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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29488821">Bound For Trouble (From the Start)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokislawyer/pseuds/lokislawyer'>lokislawyer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crimes &amp; Criminals, Criminal Underground, Criminal dilf emotionally adopts a child and falls in love with her legal guardian, Dubious Ethics, Dubious Morality, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, What more can I say, brief descriptions of violence, lots of people die but theyre not gay so its fine, the gays are safe with me, we’re gonna get there i swear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:53:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,723</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29488821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokislawyer/pseuds/lokislawyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A private contractor for the criminal underground gets a job: kidnap the step child of one troublesome detective and keep her for a week until the time of the ransom meeting. A job that unexpectedly turns their respective lives upside down. <br/>For better or for worse? No one is sure.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Veli Grayson/Sebastian Briggs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay so this is the first original work i post here so idk i guess enjoy?<br/>Also if you see mistakes no you don’t❤️</p>
<p>Ages of the main characters:<br/>Veli - 43<br/>Sebastian - 37<br/>Elaine - 11</p>
<p>I’ll add more notes as i go</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m sorry, my ears must be deceiving me. Could you repeat that again for me?”</p><p>Veli Grayson stared at the man in front of him, sweating with nervousness, his eyes cast down in fear. The whole room thrummed with tension, the rest of Veli’s men shifting uncomfortably at their boss’ scrutiny.</p><p>“She wouldn’t stay down so I thought hitting her would keep her down!”</p><p>“Hitting her <em>with your gun!”</em> Veli hissed at the cowering man.</p><p>The job had been simple; intercept the detective on his way home and kidnap his step daughter. No one is to be harmed beyond what is necessary for the completion of the job, and <em>no dead bodies.</em></p><p>A rule that one of the men working under him had clearly neglected which left the detective unconscious and his ex wife dead.</p><p>Veli pinched the bridge of his nose, the knot of pain behind his eyes throbbed, headache descending on him like the first winter snow.</p><p>There was only one thing to do about this sort of negligence; he aimed his gun at the man’s forehead, ignoring the way his eyes widened in panic, and pulled the trigger.</p><p>The body fell to the ground with a thud.</p><p>
  <em>A life for a life.</em>
</p><p>“Clean this up.” He barked the order at no one in particular, “and take me to the girl.”</p><p>Jan Cormac gave no instructions about collateral damage when he gave him this job. Not surprising considering how much he detested the detective.</p><p>Veli, on the other hand, had a code. They do the dirty work with minimum casualties. Unless the work warranted a few dead bodies here and there, which wasn’t included in this particular contract.</p><p> He worked hard to establish his current standing in the criminal underground. It was not a place for the soft hearted, and Veli was no snowflake himself, but his methodology had earned him quite a few raised eyebrows and whispered words before he had proved his efficiency and garnered favor from the top dogs.</p><p>He hid the slight shake of his hand by closing it tightly, his knuckles turning white. He hated killing his own people.</p><p>He had no problem with killing people who deserved it, who went out of their way to hurt those they deemed beneath them. But he hated killing someone he had chosen himself and had worked with for years.</p><p>Still, he wouldn’t allow weakness to fester. Better to throw the bad apple away before it ruined the whole basket.</p><p>Being an independent third party gave him perks none of the people on either side of the law had: doing crime, but receiving no punishment.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. Tucked into the corner of the room, was a bed. Atop that bed, wrapped in a faded blue blanket frayed at the edges, sat a little girl with mousy brown hair staring at the opposite wall.</p><p>The silence in the room was wrong. No child should be this quiet.</p><p>He approached her slowly, his footsteps muffled by the old carpet.</p><p>She flinched at the sound of him getting closer, but didn’t so much as turn her head an inch to acknowledge his presence.</p><p><em>Brave girl</em>.</p><p>Veli stopped a few steps away from her bed. Upon closer inspection, her rigid frame belied how much fear her small body was struggling to contain.</p><p>He sighed.</p><p>Kidnapping children was not something he fancied doing, rare as it was for him. He asked no questions, though.</p><p>Questions got you killed in this line of work.</p><p>“Hello, little one.” He said and the girl flinched again. “What’s your name?”</p><p>No answer.</p><p>“Are you hungry? I can ask one of the guys to get you a burger if you like?”</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Sighing, he turned to leave. Mind already racing, going over his schedule for the day. Jan had instructed that the girl is to remain with them for a week before getting transported to him. Veli had no shortage of safe houses, and no shortage of men to spare for the child’s safekeeping. Still, he would’ve liked the ordeal to be over as quickly as possible. Not that he expected things to go over smoothly, not with a Cormac being the client.</p><p>He almost missed the tiny voice that called to him, stopping him in his tracks.</p><p>He turned to look at her in surprise.</p><p>“Is-“ she swallowed, bunching up the fabric of the blanket in her small hands. “Is my mom dead?”</p><p><em>Are they dead? </em>The question echoed in his mind, by a different voice in a different time.</p><p>He closed his eyes briefly, shaking off the memory, and walked back to the child. Crouching to be on her eye level, he nodded.</p><p>Tears brimmed in her big brown eyes but she raised her chin and stared him down.</p><p>“Did it hurt?”</p><p>“No.” He said. “It was like falling asleep.”</p><p>She nodded shakily and turned away from him, sinking under the blanket and wrapping it tightly around her.</p><p>He took it as his cue to leave.</p><p> </p><p>The smell of antiseptic assaulted his senses as he made his way down. A reminder of what he had done. Another weight for Veli’s weary soul to carry.</p><p>The child plagued his mind. The image of her eyes filling up with tears as he confirmed her suspicions played on repeat as he went about his day.</p><p>His men, sensing he was in a bad mood, gave him a wide berth. They all knew how unpleasant he could be when in a foul state of mind. A product of years’ worth of working under him and witnessing how unstable he could be.</p><p>Jan called him to confirm the acquisition of the child around midday, sounding impossibly delighted about the woman dying in the process.</p><p>“Anything to hurt the detective.” He had said and promised to up the payment just for that, as if Veli had done it for him. He wondered if the Cormac matriarch was involved or if it was just Jan playing with people that bothered him like he often does.</p><p>That man belonged in a mental institute.</p><p>But then again, <em>Veli </em>probably belonged in one, too.</p><p>One of his men approached him with tray of sandwiches and some juice packets for the little girl.</p><p>
  <em>Was it dinner time already?</em>
</p><p>He took the tray and went upstairs, steps echoing on the metal staircase.</p><p>
  <em>Tap tap tap</em>
</p><p>He found her in the same position he had left her in, not an inch out of place. Still wrapped in the blue blanket and facing the wall. Veli stopped at the foot of the bed and lowered himself to sit on the floor, back resting against the metal frame.</p><p>“I brought dinner.” He said, placing the tray beside him on the floor and taking a sandwich for himself.</p><p>She didn’t react, but he had expected that to happen. One did not get over the death of their parent in one day, nor break bread with the man whose hands were dripping with their blood.</p><p>To fill the silence, he started telling her about himself. The things he liked to eat when he was a child, the games he liked to play, that one spot in the orphanage where he liked to hide from the caretakers and watch the sky until his eyes hurt.</p><p>He told her about scuffed knees and old shoes, about children running in the field behind the orphanage, about bright eyes and brighter dreams.</p><p>Things he had never told anyone before, things no one cared to ask him about. But for some reason he felt comfortable sharing them with this child.</p><p>Perhaps the lost child inside found solace in the loss shared with the little girl.</p><p>He left the tray where it lay and left after he finished talking, hoping she the hunger would force her to eat something. The nostalgia trip took more energy from him than he thought it would take. It left him lighter but sadder. And the irony wasn’t lost on him.</p><p>For the first three days, a routine had taken shape. Veli would bring in food, eat some of it, and talk about whatever was on his mind. The girl would barely acknowledge his presence and only eat when he left.</p><p>On the fourth he found her sitting cross legged on the bed, facing the door.</p><p>“Good morning.” He greeted, carefully walking towards her as if approaching a wild animal. He placed the tray on the bed in front of her and made to slide down to sit in his now customary place, but the look on her face made him pause.</p><p>“Something on your mind, little one?” Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at the endearment but she nodded.</p><p>Veli held his breath in anticipation.</p><p>“The man at the door said what happened to m- to <em>her</em> wasn’t your fault.” She fixed him with scrutinizing look that made her seem decades older. A child’s eyes had no business looking that old. “Is that true?”</p><p>He pivoted momentarily to glare at the closed door. He had instructed his men to leave the child alone and not aggravate her further. That meant no talking to her. Was disobedience becoming a habit among his men? Advocating his innocence was pointless because he simply wasn’t innocent.</p><p>He sighed. A metaphorical ear pulling was due soon.</p><p>“Yes and no.” He answered truthfully.</p><p>Her brows stitched in confusion, and he ran a hand throw his curls to compose himself.</p><p>“The plan was to take you without harming anyone else.” He explained. “One of my men acted on his own accord.”</p><p>“So you didn’t order it.”</p><p>“I didn’t.” He confirmed. “But I’m responsible for these men and what they do.” He added. “So it <em>is </em>my fault.”</p><p>She appraised him with those empty eyes of hers for a few moments then nodded and silently reached for a sandwich, fixing him with a look, daring him to say anything.</p><p>He didn’t.</p><p>Veli slid down, settling into his position on the floor, and reached for a sandwich.</p><p>“You said one of your men did it.” Her voice sliced through the tense silence. “What happened to him?”</p><p>“He got what he deserved.” He looked at her and held eye contact, making sure she understood what he meant.</p><p>She didn’t so much as flinch. “Good.” She said simply and turned her attention back to her sandwich.</p><p>
  <em>Huh.</em>
</p><p>He decided today’s progress warranted some funny stories. He had exhausted his fun stories from his past reserve in the past few days, so he figured he could tell her some from his present. Stories from jobs gone wrong, inappropriate for a child’s ears as they were, but had nothing else to offer.</p><p>The child didn’t seem to mind.</p><p>She didn’t react or comment, but Veli secretly wished she would find comfort in these little stories. A momentary distraction from the horrors of her reality.</p><p>Though, who would find comfort in stories told by the monster under the bed, he mused.</p><p>After that morning, things took a turn for the better.</p><p>Every time he entered the room he found her sitting cross legged, expression passive but some color had returned to her face.</p><p>He counted it as a win.</p><p>Halfway through lunch of the fifth day, she crawled out of the bed and sat on the other side of the tray, mirroring his position.</p><p>“My name is Elaine.” She whispered, not looking at him.</p><p>He already knew that.</p><p>“Elaine.” He repeated, making a show of testing the name. “I’m Veli.”</p><p>He saw her mouth the name to herself and hid a smile.</p><p>She didn’t say anything else that day.</p><p>On the sixth day he brought her paper and coloring pencils along with the food. It was the first time he had seen her smile.</p><p>It was a small and shaky thing, but a smile nonetheless.</p><p>He hoped this child would recover and regain some of what she had lost in time. He was part of the reason she would never be the same again, but he still hoped.</p><p>Hope was dangerous, but he allowed himself to bend his own rules enough to resort to it. It is the least of what this child deserved.</p><p>“Good morning, peanut.” He greeted on the last day. She was due to be transported that afternoon to the meeting place that Jan chose. Veli was to guard her while the detective handed over the agreed upon price of her release. A simple enough arrangement, all things considered.</p><p>These meetings rarely went smoothly, someone always pulled some trick and all hell would break loose. He needed to be on his guard.</p><p>“Uncle Sebastian calls me that too.” She said, jolting him out of his thoughts.</p><p>Uncle Sebastian.</p><p><em>The detective</em>, his mind supplied.</p><p>“Ah well, your uncle Sebastian has taste.” He settled in his place and watched from the corner of his eye as she slipped down to imitate his position.</p><p>“Speaking of,” he paused to take a bite out of his sandwich. It was a grilled cheese one. He scrunched his nose in distaste at the smokey flavor and put the sandwich back down. “Your time here is coming to an end. I’m taking you to your uncle this afternoon.”</p><p>A sharp intake of breath to his left pulled his attention away from the tray to gaze at Elaine. The child’s eyes widened , and lips parted with surprise.</p><p>“Really?” Her voice shook slightly.</p><p>He nodded and told her in as much detail as he could divulge. He told her what to expect from the man who ordered her kidnapping and what to expect from Veli himself.</p><p>Elaine nodded in understanding, as if it was a completely sensible thing to say.</p><p>What came as a complete surprise to him, though, was her asking him about the nature of his job.</p><p>The news of the return home had seemingly lifted her spirits enough for her curiosity to peak through. Veli decided he would indulge her.</p><p>He launched into an elaborate explanation, making sure not to dumb down any detail for her sake. He had a feeling she would have taken offense to that.</p><p>Food finished and tray discarded, Elaine settled back on the bed to draw and Veli paced around the room while explaining to her the hierarchy of the criminal underground; who was who, who owed who what, and who screwed who and ended up paying for it. She intercepted with questions and comments, pointing out how stupid some of the arrangements were.</p><p>He couldn’t disagree.</p><p>Soon enough it was time to leave to the second location and he went to pick her up.</p><p>“Listen peanut,” he started as he knelt in front of her on the floor as she sat on the edge of the bed, legs hanging down limply. “When things go south, you stick with me, alright?” He looked up at her, “I won’t let anything happen to you.” He promised.</p><p>She held his gaze for a few moments then nodded. “I believe you.”</p><p>He took her by the hand and guided her out, flanked by his men.</p><p>The ride was tense and silent save for occasional grunt from hitting a speed bump. His attention was pulled by the rapidly changing scenery outside his window, the effect dizzying but he couldn’t take his eyes away.</p><p>The venue Jan had chosen was an abandoned factory out of town, entirely unoriginal but one shouldn’t expect much flair for the dramatics from a man like Jan Cormac. He was known for his unoriginality.</p><p>They secured Elaine and Veli went over to Jan to go over the details.</p><p>Soon enough, the detective arrived with two unfamiliar individuals dressed like civilians. Undercover police, most likely.</p><p>Veli watched from his place in the second story, leaning on the rails, as the tall man entered confidently, long strides led him straight to Jan who was inclined in a folding chair in the middle of the big room.</p><p>He heard Jan taunt the man, but didn’t pay it any attention. His focus was solely on the detective. Something about the way he held himself commanded Veli’s attention. Like a dog catching a tantalizing scent, Veli decided to investigate.</p><p>He watched closely, eyes flitting over the man’s body, going over ridges and curves, analyzing every bit of body language.</p><p>The detective was too relaxed and that only meant one thing: he had backup.</p><p>Veli focused back on the conversation between Jan and the detective, just in time to see Jan point up at him. His signal to fetch Elaine.</p><p>The detective looked up and their eyes met. “Grayson.” He snarled.</p><p> Veli flashed him a wolfish grin and saluted, before leaning away from the rails and retrieving the girl.</p><p>The man’s body tensed when he saw Elaine, shouting her name.</p><p>Veli put his hand on her shoulder and narrowed his eyes at the detective as his hand reached back and touched something in his back pocket.</p><p>Veli leaned down and whispered in Elaine’s ear “close your eyes when I tell you to and don’t open them until I say so.”</p><p>He felt more than he saw her nod.</p><p>Clever girl.</p><p>He noticed the detective was giving him a look that suggested he wanted nothing more that to flay him alive.</p><p>Fair.</p><p>Soon enough all hell broke loose and Elaine did as Veli had instructed, closing her eyes tightly as he led her away from the hail of bullets and into a safe corner.</p><p>They formed a circle around her, guns poised at the ready. The asset was the highest priority in any operation.</p><p>They heard someone going up the metal staircase and aimed in their direction.</p><p>“Wait!” He called. It was one of detective Briggs’ escorts. A young man with dark brown hair and dark eyes. “I’m with the police!” He slowly lowered his gun and reached into his pocket, pulling out his badge.</p><p>“Well congratulations!” Veli announced in a fake cheerful voice, grin wide like a cheshire cat. “Poor choice of career, but who am I to judge?”</p><p>“Give me the girl.” The man demanded, ignoring Veli’s taunts.</p><p>“He says to give him the girl!” Veli laughed, exchanging amused looks with his men. “Listen, <em>boy</em>.” He spat that last word out, walking a step forward and watching the man take a step back. “Unless you show me Jan Cormac dead or in cuffs, the child isn’t leaving my custody.”</p><p>Below them, a mixture of shouts, grunts, and whistles of flying bullets could be heard. The air carried the metal tang of blood. There was no knowing who was coming out of this victorious.</p><p>The man nodded reluctantly and turned to go the way he came from.</p><p>Veli’s eyes sought Elaine and he saw that she still had her eyes firmly closed. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the sound of several feet running up the stairs accompanied by shouts.</p><p>Three of Jan’s men appeared and aimed at Elaine.</p><p>Time slowed and Veli’s body reacted on instinct before he had a chance to know what was even happening. He flung himself to the side to block Elaine’s body. He felt the first bullet pierce his upper right arm and the second graze his shoulder before his men rained hell on the assailants.</p><p> Through the roar in his ears, he heard Elaine scream.</p><p>Hands were touching him and he opened his eyes to see two of his men trying to assess his injuries.</p><p>“I’m fine, I’m <em>fine.” </em>He panted, swatting their hands away with his uninjured hand. He struggled to get up and bit down on a scream when his arm muscles pulled in the process.</p><p>They helped him up and leaned him on the wall while one of them worked to make a makeshift tourniquet.</p><p>When the tourniquet was tied and the bleeding was slowing, he called for Elaine to open her eyes.</p><p>“It’s okay, peanut. You’re okay.” He tried to sound reassuring but it came out in grunts of pain.</p><p>“They shot you!” She ran to his side, almost reaching out but seemingly catching herself halfway. Her small fists bunched up the fabric of her jeans.</p><p>“Just a scratch, peanut, don’t worry.” She looked dubious but nodded and sat down on the ground next to where he stood leaning on the wall.</p><p>“Should I close my eyes now?” She asked, looking up at him.</p><p>“Probably for the best, yeah.”</p><p>A few minutes later another group ascended the stairs after the commotion downstairs had quieted down dramatically.</p><p>Spearheading the group was detective Sebastian Briggs.</p><p>Both groups immediately aimed at each other.</p><p>“Grayson.” Growled the detective menacingly. Veli rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall with a grunt, hearing Elaine gasp at the sound of the detective’s voice.</p><p>“Detective Briggs!” Veli gave him a cocky smirk that he didn’t feel. The pain was quickly burning up his bravado reserves. “How kind of you to finally join us!”</p><p>The good detective grimaced at him and shifted his attention to the girl sitting on the ground.</p><p>“Elaine?” He inquired in a soft voice that mismatched his appearance, angry as he looked, bloody and filthy. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m okay, uncle.” She replied, not opening her eyes. The detective’s brows creased in confusion and Veli hid a smile, looking down at the girl.</p><p>“You can open your eyes now, peanut.” He told her and she slowly blinked her eyes open. He turned back just in time to see detective Briggs narrow his eyes at him, which prompted Veli to wiggle his eyebrows at him. Briggs ignored him in favor of checking over the child for any injuries.</p><p>He wouldn’t find any.</p><p>Veli was a man of his words.</p><p>“Jan is dead.” Briggs told him and that was that, Veli supposed.</p><p>He told Elaine to go to her uncle and told his men to stand down, Briggs told his the same.</p><p>Before they left, Elaine gave him a small smile before taking her uncle’s hand and leaving.</p><p>“This was horrible!” He called after them. “Don’t visit again!”</p><p>“Fuck off!” Briggs called back.</p><p>Coughing a laugh, Veli told his men it was time to call the doctor to patch him up.</p><p>As he watched the group leave, he wondered if he would ever see the little girl and her uncle again.</p><p>It would be for the best if he doesn’t.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One of the highlights of this job, Veli mused, was getting to unleash hell on some unsavory individuals under contract. To get paid for ridding the earth of its foulest scum was truly a gift like no other.</p><p>The way the hierarchy worked, as he had explained to Elaine the month before, was like a food pyramid; there were individuals and families at the very top, untouchable by all else except for those of their own tier, people at the very bottom who worked as grunts and bootlickers to the top dogs, and everyone in between who were constantly rising and falling in the ranks.</p><p>Veli was outside that pyramid, a separate force with no loyalty to anyone. That made him the perfect person to carry out contracts and do the dirty work without it being linked to any one front.</p><p>Though most of his contracts come from big families, like the Cormacs, sometimes he gets contacts from the inbetweeners.</p><p>Today was that kind of day.</p><p>Whistling a random tune that his brain had fixated on for the past few days, he descended the steps of the alley that led to the restaurant the target worked in: White male, late forties, owner of ‘Ronnie’s Deli’, and unregistered child molester. The client wanted him taken out publicly and painfully.</p><p>Veli flexed the fingers of both hands.</p><p>This was going to feel good.</p><p>The sun was out in full force and a lot of people were milling about in the streets, enjoying the sunlight. Veli wasn’t a fan of the heat but he’d be damned if he let the big fireball in the sky ruin this for him. It was not everyday he got to publicly execute a pedophile.</p><p>He was trailed by two of his men, merely a precaution for there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know Veli Grayson in this part of town. And no one was stupid enough to cross him. At least, not anymore.</p><p>He loved the architecture of this place, the twists and turns of the part of town that was built on the hillside, shops and restaurants tucked into the corners, chairs and tables peppering the pavement crammed with people young and old.</p><p>It was of the few things he could always take a moment and appreciate, just life thrumming and pulsing with a beat that lifted his spirits and quickened his steps.</p><p>He lost count of the times his younger self had traversed these parts doing odd jobs to stay alive, long before he started building himself up on the other side of the law.</p><p>He crossed an old man sitting outside his shop in a wooden chair, age-worn face twisted in disapproval and disgust at the sight of Veli.</p><p>They all remembered him, and they all resented what he had become.</p><p>They knew better than to call him names and spit at him to his face, but that didn’t mean they didn’t do it behind his back.</p><p>He knew what they called him when they thought he was too far too hear; the monster, the abomination, the man without honor.</p><p>Fools.</p><p>He knew everything.</p><p>Funny how fate worked. The same people who turned a blind eye to the suffering of a child on their streets now resented what he had become as if they did not have a hand in it. They were not innocent, none of them were. Whatever monstrosity they saw in him today was the result of their negligence. They had no right to despise him when they had been there and saw first hand how the local gangs used street urchins who had nowhere to turn to. How they killed the ones that failed in some task.</p><p>They watched <em>children </em>bury their friends.</p><p>They had no right to judge Veli. Not anymore.</p><p>The restaurant sign of ‘Ronnie’s Deli’ glinted in the afternoon sun, the cliché color scheme of red, green, and white painted the walls of the establishment.</p><p>Veli sighed.</p><p>The next owner hopefully had better taste than the soon to be previous.</p><p>He raised a hand to signal his men to go, and watched as people scrambled out of their way in fear.</p><p>They re-emerged not a minute later dragging the man along. They pushed him to his knees in front of Veli and gasps could be heard from the crowd that gathered around them.</p><p>“Ronnie Argento, Owner of Ronnie’s Deli.” Veli announced, looking down at the cowering man.</p><p>“I ain’t done nothing wrong!” Pleaded the man, eyes wide as saucers. Veli could smell the fear radiating off him.</p><p><em>It’s always the cowards</em>, he mentally shook his head.</p><p>“The children from St. Augustine school across the street from your house would beg to differ.” Veli countered with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>The man paled and Veli leered at him. No one from St. Augustine school actually told him anything, but he hazarded a guess. Apparently he was correct.</p><p>Children were a big red line for Veli.</p><p>He motioned for the men to stay back as he stalked forward and pulled the man up by the collars of his button up shirt.</p><p>“You didn’t think you’d get away with it, did you?” He whispered harshly, face inches away from the pallid face of the other. The sickly sweet smell of the man’s sweat assaulted Veli’s senses as he cowered in fear.</p><p>He had done this enough times to know how to make it slow and painful, leaving the target a gasping mess on the ground unable to speak nor help themselves.</p><p>He heard someone scream “call the police!” As he threw the man at one of the tables, knocking the plates and cutlery to the ground.</p><p>He scoffed.</p><p>Not even God could save this man now.</p><p>Throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, but in the right places and with the right pacing soon left the man too weak to move, but not nearly dead yet.</p><p>Exercise restraint, don’t get carried away. That was the trick.</p><p>He delighted in the sounds he elicited from the target <em>and </em>the crowd alike. A part of him reveled in the fear and the pain he caused.</p><p>It scared him sometimes, how far down he could fall if he let himself go. How easy it would be, too. A sinister voice slithered into the edges of his consciousness, urging him to go harder and faster, flooding his body with restless energy that he used to pummel the man with punches. His mind provided him with a myriad of pictures and sounds, screams of horror and moans of pain. It egged him on, filling him with a frenzy to inflict as much agony as he could on this wretched man below him.</p><p>
  <em>More and more and more.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Enough!”</em> A voice broke him out of his stupor as hands wrapped around his forearms and yanked him up forcefully.</p><p>He swiveled, pushing the newcomer away from him and stumbling back a few steps.</p><p>Squinting in the sun, he recognized the man.</p><p>Sebastian Briggs.</p><p>The detective dropped to his knees next to the body to check the pulse. Veli could’ve told him it was useless. There was no chance he would survive that.</p><p>“Dead.” He stated gravelly then rose to walk towards Veli, face thunderous.</p><p>“Veli Grayson, you’re under arrest.”</p><p>As Briggs moved to grab Veli, he ducked and punched him in the stomach, causing him to fall back a few steps with a grunt.</p><p>The disbelief morphed into fury as the detective flew at Veli with a punch to the jaw. Veli’s body reacted on instinct and the two tumbled over a table, falling to the ground in a twist of limbs.</p><p>The scuffle couldn’t have lasted more than a couple of minutes before someone broke them apart, saving Veli the trouble of head-butting the detective. His head wouldn’t have thanked him for that.</p><p>As soon as Briggs was on his feet he reached for his holster and pulled out his gun, aiming it at Veli.</p><p>“You’re coming with me, asshole.”</p><p>Veli wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand and bared his bloody teeth like a wild animal, never taking his eyes off the detective.</p><p>If he wanted Veli, he could have him. It won’t be for long anyway.</p><p>He patted himself, the indigo blue of his suit unrecognizable under the layer of dust he acquired from rolling on the cobblestoned street.</p><p>“You want me so bad don’t you, pretty boy?” He taunted, watching the detective’s mouth twist with annoyance.</p><p>Veli motioned for his men to leave, they needed to notify the client of the completion of the job. Veli would be fine on his own.</p><p>Always has, always will be.</p><p>“Well,” he said, making a show of extending his hands forward, crossed at the wrists. “I’m all yours, Briggs.”</p><p>His gaze followed the detective’s every movement with a smirk playing at his lips while he put him in cuffs, leading him towards the parked police car some distance away from the restaurant.</p><p>Briggs’ partner, who Veli had just noticed was there, stayed with the body and made some calls.</p><p>All eyes in the police station were fixed on them the moment they stepped inside. Briggs pushed Veli into a rotating chair at some desk, presumably his own, and left to talk to the captain.</p><p>Veli leaned back and planted his feet on the floor, using them to spin himself in the chair. He gave the officers staring at him a wide smile, receiving nervous looks from the ones he had on payroll, and sneers from the ones that are not.</p><p>Cops were society’s worst creation. They believed themselves the hand of the divine, ruling out punishment in the name of justice and the greater good when in fact they were merely thugs on a pay grade. At least Veli had the decency to not hide behind the façade of the law while doing the dirty work.</p><p>Briggs returned shortly after, following behind his captain, a short and stout old man sporting a resigned expression. Briggs himself looked like he had just bit into a lemon.</p><p>Veli smirked. The detective shouldn’t have expected a different outcome.</p><p>“Captain Pierce!” Veli greeted, “long time no see!”</p><p>“Grayson.” The captain nodded. “I would’ve preferred it if you hadn’t graced me with your presence today.”</p><p>“Ah well.” He shrugged. “We owe this pleasant reunion to the good detective over here.”</p><p>Briggs’ expression soured even further, something Veli didn’t think was possible but here they were. He wondered if the man ever smiled his face would crack and crumble. It would be a funny sight.</p><p>“You’re going to be detained for the night.” The captain told him.</p><p>Veli hummed in response. That was the worst they could do to him. One call to his lawyer and he’d be out within the hour, but he decided to indulge the detective and spend the night there. He needed the rest anyway.</p><p>Briggs’ piercing blue eyes were drilling holes in his forehead as the captain made some excuse to leave and ordered Briggs to take Veli to a holding cell “until his lawyer arrives”.</p><p>“Let’s go.” Grunted the detective, pulling him up by the arm. Veli made an inappropriate comment about what else Briggs’ strong arms could be good for, which earned him an elbow to the side.</p><p>He admired the man’s gall. Not many would dare manhandle Veli knowing who he was and who protected him. He was impressed.</p><p>The detective unlocked the handcuffs and pushed him into an empty holding cell.</p><p>Veli’s trailed over the man as he closed the cell door slowly, not breaking eye contact.</p><p>“Got something to say, detective Briggs?” Said Veli, dragging a finger over the bars horizontally, his eyes following the movement, ignoring the detective’s scathing look.</p><p>“You’ll pay for what you’ve done to my family.” He gritted through clenched teeth.</p><p>Fingers paused their motion across the metal bars.</p><p><em>Is my mom dead? </em>Elaine’s question came unbidden to mind.</p><p>“We all have to answer for our actions one day, detective.” He gave him a sardonic smile. “What goes around, comes around and all that.”</p><p>The silence that he was met with was a relief. He couldn’t promise himself he wouldn’t aggravate a grieving man further whether or not it was his intention to. Despite being on opposite sides, he really meant this man no ill. It was just fate that they would meet this way.</p><p>He heard Briggs walk away.</p><p>The dull grey insides of the cell were the same wherever he looked. They reminded him of another time he had been inside a similar holding, cold and unpleasant. The onslaught of memories caused a shiver to run down his spine.</p><p>Maybe indulging Briggs wasn’t such a good idea after all.</p><p>The next morning he was escorted into the captain’s office where his lawyer was waiting. Briggs was standing menacingly to the side, glaring at everything in the immediate vicinity. He looked like he was a breath away from popping that throbbing vein in his forehead.</p><p>The lawyer thanked the captain for his ‘cooperation’ and asked the officer to relieve his client of the cuffs.</p><p>Saluting the captain, Veli turned to leave with his lawyer.</p><p>He didn’t get far before Briggs’ voice calling his name stopped him in his tracks. He turned to face the man, eyebrows raised in surprise and interest piqued. What could he possibly want from Veli?</p><p>The hesitation in his tone was most uncharacteristic. As was the inability to meet Veli’s eyes as he asked him if they could have a word in private.</p><p>“Detective, I assure you if you wanted to kill me, you should’ve done it <em>before </em>my lawyer had arrived.” He said as Briggs led him away from prying ears.</p><p>“Shut up for a second, will you?” Replied the detective. Veli was about to say something vulgar when the man reached into his back pocket and pulled out a blue envelope, handing it to Veli.</p><p>Baffled, Veli hesitantly reached to take it and gave him a questioning look which the detective didn’t catch since he was busy pretending Veli didn’t exist at the moment.</p><p>He turned his attention back to the envelope. It was small and had a few flower and hearts stickers decorating it.</p><p>Opening it, he found two folded papers. One big and one small. He unfolded the big one first, his breath hitching as he realized it was a drawing of him. Simplified in a child’s style and coloration, but him nonetheless.</p><p>After staring at it for a bit too long, he moved to open the small folded paper.</p><p>It was a short letter written in a neat handwriting.</p><p>“<em>Dear Veli,</em></p><p>
  <em>I hope your arm is okay now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Uncle Sebastian told me that you looked okay and I was glad.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I miss eating sandwiches with you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love, Elaine.”</em>
</p><p>The corners of his mouth lifted up in a smile that he tried to fight to no avail. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest, something aching and fragile.</p><p>His hands shook slightly as he folded the papers and tucked them back into the envelope, smoothing the edges with his thumbs fondly.</p><p>He didn’t know how this child had sneaked past the walls he’d built around his heart, and it scared him. He wasn’t used to good things, warm things. He wasn’t used to someone caring about his wellbeing untainted by business arrangements and ulterior motives.</p><p>He slipped the envelope into his pocket and looked up to see the detective appraising him.</p><p>“I don’t know what she sees in you.” He told him eventually.</p><p>“That makes two of us.” Mumbled Veli in reply before hastily escaping the man’s scathing eyes.</p><p>He laid his palm on his breast pocket where the envelope lay inside, right on top of his heart, as he made his way out of the station’s doors.</p><p>
  <em>I miss you too, peanut. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The clicking sound of the assistant’s heels was a nail dragging across the metaphorical chalkboard of Veli’s mind as she accompanied him through the glass doors and down the wooden staircase. The Cormac matriarch had some taste in interior design, he had to give her that; The detached impersonality of the glass doors and accents balanced by the warm shades of the wood panels lining the floors, the abundant use of plants gave it a punch of life that cinched everything together.</p><p>The staircases winding up and down in an almost labyrinthine way only drove the sense of uniqueness further.</p><p>Business-wise it was a brilliantly innocuous front for the city’s biggest criminal family.</p><p>In the world of the elite, appearances were everything.</p><p>After the death of Jan Cormac, his younger brother, Sacha, had stepped up to take his place as his mother’s right hand. A change Veli had mixed feelings on. Sacha Cormac was a much less sensible individual than his older brother, which bode well for Veli’s business and badly for the general public.</p><p>Leaving the assistant behind and making his way towards the car where his men were waiting, he shook the tension locking his shoulders off, glad to be out of that assistant’s range.</p><p>His brain rejected any clicking sound unless he was the one making it.</p><p>Half an hour’s drive later he was on the pier munching on a fish sandwich from his favorite joint and mentally planning how to execute his contract.</p><p>The sparkling blue water did wonders to ease his mind. He watched the fishermen in their boats casting nets onto the water. A few amateurs were lining the pier, fishing rods held tightly in their fists, necks craned to watch the water for any sign. He had tried fishing once but quickly gave up on it. He had no patience for the long wait it took.</p><p>The old man that made the sandwich he was eating at the moment had told him once that he thought too much. That he had to have a clear mind and a stable hand.</p><p>Veli had laughed.</p><p>He possessed neither of those.</p><p>His mind drifted back to his meeting with the youngest Cormac.</p><p>Sacha’s methodology leaned towards torture a lot more than his late brother had. The target being a high profile one required a sense of delicacy in handling the situation.</p><p>No matter what Cormac said, they couldn’t just waterboard and break the bones of the district attorney’s prodigy without getting some heat. It made no sense to piss off the family’s biggest rival and one of the few who are immune to their bribery and exploitation.</p><p>Throwing the sandwich wrapper in the bin, and thanking the old man at the stall, he walked along the pier. The chill late afternoon breeze ruffled his salt and pepper curls, turning the tips of his ears red. Hands stuffed in his pockets, and gaze distant with concentration, he ambled along the winding path.</p><p>The best course of action, he concluded, was to have a friendly chat with the woman. Granted, that would involve emotionally extorting her with the wellbeing of her loved ones, something that Veli excelled at. Righteous people always put on a brave front until one threatened the livelihood of innocent loved ones, then they would cave in and give him whatever he wanted from them. He liked their simplicity. It made for an easier time doing his job.</p><p>He could always count on their predictability if nothing else.</p><p>Getting information on her and her family was fairly simple, and one call got him everything he needed. His people in the DA’s office came through with admirable speed. So quick to garner favor from the man that held their leash.</p><p>He stopped near some fishermen’s boats, watching them unload their equipment and their catch for the day. The sky was getting dark and it was time to go home.</p><p>For them, at least.</p><p>For Veli it was time to pay an old friend a visit.</p><p>He walked along the familiar dark path, twisting and turning on instinct before he found what he was looking for.</p><p>“Remember that girl you used to have a crush on?” he asked, placing the bag of things he had bought on his way there on the ground and stopping in front of the headstone. “I saw her the other day.” He dropped down with a grunt, leaning his back on the cool concrete slab. “She has two kids in middle school now and is even more beautiful than she was when we were fifteen.” His eyes were fixed on the horizon where the sun was sinking ever lower.</p><p> Something about the colors of the sunset always left him melancholic.</p><p>“Which is really unfair if you ask me.” He continued. “Since I have a head full of gray hair and looking ten years older than I should be at forty three and you’re…” he trailed off, glancing at the grave. “Well, you get my point.”</p><p>He rummaged through the plastic bag for a few moments and fished out a bottle of beer and a packet of juice. He placed the juice packet on the gravestone.</p><p>“No alcohol for you.” He gave the headstone a bitter smile and turned back to watch the sky, opening the beer bottle with his teeth.</p><p>“Your birthday is coming up soon.” He finally whispered, voice thick with restrained emotion, pushing himself up. “I’ll get you something nice, I promise.”</p><p>He didn’t think of the one promise he couldn’t keep as he left a some cookies next to the juice packet on the grave and left. He was sure one of the homeless people who sometimes came here would find them and make use of them.</p><p>With heavy steps and a heavier heart, he trudged out of the cemetery trailed by the ghosts of his past that shadowed his every step. He clenched and unclenched his hands, a rhythm to stave off the rising panic that reared its ugly head whenever he visited this place.</p><p>Morning of the next day found him standing outside the target’s house, flanked by four of his most physically impressive men to really drive the point of the visit home. They made him look even shorter than he was, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.</p><p>The door opened to reveal a young woman with short black hair and truly impressive eyebrows. Dark eyes widened at the sight of Veli and his men.</p><p>“Claire Preston?” The young woman stared blankly. “Good morning!” He greeted cheerfully, advancing forward and placing his palm flat on the door when she tried to close it in his face.</p><p>He shook his head in mock disappointment and pushed the door open, forcing her to stumble back into the house.</p><p>“Now that’s just rude, isn’t it boys?” A halfhearted collective grunt could be heard in answer.</p><p>“What do you want from me, Grayson?” She inquired, a hint of steel lacing her tone.</p><p>“You know little old me?” He motioned to himself and placed a hand on his heart, eyes wide and brows raised in feigned surprise. “I’m flattered!”</p><p>He walked around and into what he assumed was the living room, noting the framed pictures and school trophies lining the shelves. A big framed photograph of Miss Preston and her brother standing behind their parents was hanging over the fireplace mantle. A perfect family with a perfect life.</p><p>He plopped down into one of the plush armchairs, crossing his legs and clasping his hands over his knees. A picture of the perfect gentleman, with his pine green suit pressed neatly, and his black oxfords shined and glinting.</p><p>“Take a seat, please.” He offered her. “It’s <em>your </em>home after all.” He said with a chuckle.</p><p>She didn’t move an inch, her eyes blazing with contempt.</p><p>He sighed and made a sweeping motion at her with two fingers. Two of his men grabbed an arm each and forced her down into a chair opposite him, standing behind her and keeping a hand on each shoulder. Something she did not look too happy about. What did she expect to happen? That he would just leave if she glared hard enough at him? A laughable notion.</p><p>“Now,” he clapped his hands together. “Let’s talk about your latest pet project, shall we?”</p><p>These things were quite simple to execute. The more stubborn the target was, the more graphic he was about all the ways he could hurt their loved ones. Miss Preston was a stubborn and strong willed young woman, shrewd and pragmatic, but like everyone else her most damning weakness was emotional attachment.</p><p>Veli could see the crack in her resolve as soon as he mentioned her little brother, studying abroad. It wasn’t hard to send someone to pay him a visit. It would be truly unfortunate should anything happen to such a promising young man.</p><p>He knew he got her when she spat in his face and said he was ‘sick’.</p><p>He barked a sharp laugh, wiping the moisture from his face and leaning over her, placing his arms on either side of her.</p><p>“Stop digging into things that don’t concern you or the next thing you’ll be digging is your brother’s grave.” He whispered in her ear and relished in the way she shrunk in on herself.</p><p>He leaned back and turned to leave.</p><p>His job here was done.</p><p>He stopped short at the door when he saw detective Briggs slide out of his car and fix him with a glare. Instead of heading straight towards Veli, though, he walked around and opened the passenger door. Soon enough, a short form with mousy brown hair appeared, small hand wrapped around the detective’s much bigger one.</p><p>He smiled despite himself and gave her a small wave. She waved back, giving him a timid smile.</p><p>“Grayson.” Gritted the detective when they stopped in front of Veli. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Hello there, peanut.” He ignored the man’s question in favor of greeting Elaine.</p><p>“Hi Veli.” She replied, looking up at him. “How’s your arm?”</p><p>“Oh completely healed.” He assured her, making a show of rotating his arm for good measure and drawing another small smile from her. “Two and a half months is more than enough for it to be back to normal, don’t worry.”</p><p>She nodded and looked at his men nervously.</p><p>“Wait for me in the car.” He told them and watched her small shoulders sag a little in relief as they walked away.</p><p>“And to answer your question, darling.” He turned to Briggs, whose expression soured further at the term of endearment. “I was visiting a friend.”</p><p>“You and auntie Claire are friends?” Asked Elaine dubiously and he nodded in reply.</p><p>Briggs didn’t take his narrowed eyes off of Veli as he told the child to go ahead inside and he’d follow in a bit.</p><p>She didn’t look convinced, looking up at the both of them for a few times before shrugging, saying goodbye to Veli, and stepping inside. Smart girl.</p><p>He barely had time to turn his attention back to the detective before he got slammed into the wall next to the door.</p><p>“Hey!” He protested as soon as he recovered from the impact of his back hitting the wall. He was going to feel <em>that</em> later.</p><p>“What the <em>fuck </em>do you think you’re doing?” Hissed Briggs, grabbing Veli by the collar of his shirt. “What did you do to her?”</p><p>Veli rolled his eyes. The detective was being needlessly dramatic about this whole affair. He wouldn’t have let Elaine go inside if the woman had been harmed in any way. If anything, Veli had been very polite, all things considered. If one chose to ignore the psychological damage of the mental image of one’s brother eviscerated and put in small boxes.</p><p>Perfectly polite.</p><p>Of course Veli’s mouth had a tendency to run on its own with no regard to heeding any of his brain’s warnings.</p><p>“Oh she’s fine! He assured him. “At least for now.” He added with a grin and an eyebrow waggle. He just couldn’t resist taunting the man. His reactions were always so delicious.</p><p>The detective’s expression turned stony as he loomed impossibly closer. So close that Veli could count the light smattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose where he had never noticed them before. His breath caught when Briggs’ hand wrapped around his throat.</p><p>“Touch any of my people again and you’ll have me to answer to.”</p><p>“Promise?” Challenged Veli, leaning up so that their noses brushed, eyes dangerously alight with a mischievous spark.</p><p>Briggs opened his mouth to answer but the retort died in his mouth when they heard Elaine call his name, steps getting closer to the door.</p><p>Veli pushed the detective off and said “I look forward to seeing you again, sweetheart.” Flicking the tip of Briggs’ nose with his index finger before ducking under his arm and making his way towards the car where his men awaited.</p><p>The spring in his step had nothing to do with the way the detective’s dark brown eyes had locked with his own with such an intensity.</p><p>Or so he told himself.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A sun kissed hand holding his own, dragging him along. Feet tapping on the cobblestones of the street where they spent their days working for the old man in the grocery store. Breathless laughter and squeals of excitement.</p><p>Voices in that sweet spot between boyhood and manhood, high pitched and scratchy.</p><p>
  <em>Come on, Veli! We’re gonna miss it!</em>
</p><p>The boy turned to look at him but the joyous face morphed into a black and blue mock up. As if an artist had been asked to paint him with nothing but vague instructions and the colors of the night.</p><p>The boy opened his mouth and blood spilled down, staining his chin and dripping down his throat.</p><p>Veli closed his eyes tightly.</p><p>
  <em>Veli…</em>
</p><p>The sweet voice grazed the edges of Veli’s mind.</p><p>
  <em>You promised.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Consciousness tore him out of the nightmare’s hold with a gasp. Panting and breathless, heart beating erratically in his chest, eyes glazed with unshed tears. The threads that held him together threatened to unravel. A shaking shell of a man.</p><p>His hand came up to rest on his heart, a feeble attempt to instill calmness. His eyes were fixed on the silhouette of the ceiling fan rotating in the dark of the room as he tried to match his breathing to the slow movement.</p><p>Breathe in with a full rotation. Breathe out.</p><p>Repeat.</p><p>Night terrors weren’t a novel experience.</p><p>He closed his eyes briefly to ease the sting of staring unblinkingly for too long.</p><p>It was always worse near <em>his </em>birthday.</p><p>His heavy steps echoed in the silence of the hallway as he made his way to the bathroom. A few splashes of cool water chased away the last vestiges of the dream and he gazed at his reflection in the mirror. Dark circled his wilting eyes, bags sinking deeper, more lines etched into his pallid skin.</p><p>He sighed, smoothing a few loose curls back and reaching for a razor.</p><p>Having a shitty few weeks was no excuse for looking unprofessional. Especially when one had a meeting with an important client later in the day.</p><p>A shave and a shower later, he felt almost human.</p><p>Almost was the keyword.</p><p>By the time he made his way back to his room, the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon line. The dark blues and purples of the night sky faded into yellows and oranges and Veli wanted nothing more than to be embraced by the light of the sun, wrapped in threads of navy and gold, suspended in the sky where nothing could touch him. Where nothing could hurt.</p><p>He wondered, not for the first time, why he was still here. Why he had to wake up every day. Why he had to continue <em>existing. </em>There was nothing for him; no goal, no purpose, no one left alive. Surviving wasn’t the same as living.</p><p>His experiences taught him not to expect a great big benevolent god in the sky to look down on his wretched soul and grant him answers or peace of mind.</p><p>Yet he still craved it, the absolution.</p><p>His body stumbled its way through the morning ritual, putting on his clothes sluggishly and padding down the stairs to the kitchen, his socked feet noiseless on the carpeted floor.</p><p> A single piece of toast procured from the fridge and placed in the toaster and a coffee pot set brewing. He decided to go through his notifications in the meantime.</p><p>Over a dozen new contract prepositions patiently awaited him in the inbox.</p><p><em>Well,</em> he thought to himself, <em>they have to wait a little more</em>.</p><p>Sacha Cormac had called him for another job.</p><p>A tinsel of curiosity slithered into the forefront of his mind. The Preston job was the previous week, what could possibly require hiring Veli again so soon?</p><p>The reason, as he would later come to know, was none other than Sebastian Briggs.</p><p>He hadn’t the faintest clue of what the cause was for the animosity between the Cormacs and this particular detective, but he knew that Jan’s death had only added fuel to an already raging fire.</p><p>He massaged his temples in frustration as he sat in the backseat of his car, dark windows rolled up to hide him from view.</p><p>It seemed that he would have to snatch Elaine yet again.</p><p>Refusing to take the contract was out of the question, as Cormac was so kind to tell him. Opposing one of the big families would have dire consequences.</p><p>His shoulders sagged with resignation and he raised his hand closer to look at the time.</p><p>She would still be at school for a few hours more. That gave him ample time to call his men and prepare to pay the school a visit.</p><p>This time, he would do it himself.</p><p>The headmistress was easy to fool, he only had to tell her he was Briggs’ friend from work and flash her a fake badge and she led him to Elaine.</p><p>Elaine herself only gave him a cursory look, brows stitching as she held his eyes for a few moments, before nodding and grabbing her bag.</p><p>“Who is it this time?” She asked mildly as he led her out.</p><p>“Remember the guy from last time?” She hummed in response. “It’s his brother.”</p><p>She was quiet for the rest of the walk to the car. Only speaking when he opened the door for her to enter.</p><p>“They must really hate uncle.” She mumbled before slipping into the backseat.</p><p>Staring at her small form tucked into the big seat, he didn’t have any response for that.</p><p>Cormac’s instructions were peculiar; he didn’t ask for ransom or tell Veli of any arrangement. Only that he must keep the girl until he received further instructions.</p><p>Veli didn’t like the sound of that.</p><p>He also didn’t like the way he and the detective kept meeting. One would think it was intentional and that would incredibly damage Veli’s reputation.</p><p>Veli settled on keeping Elaine in his house, at the end. It fit in terms of security and anonymity, and since Veli has a strict rule of keeping his solitude, Elaine would have a slightly easier time than she would at any of the safe houses surrounded by his goons.</p><p>The awkward silence of the ride grated on his already fraying nerves. He reached for the cord and plugged his phone in, playing a random song to fill the quiet.</p><p>Elaine’s silence carried over into the house, only responding with nods and head shakes. Veli figured it was fair. He <em>did </em>kidnap her, after all. And not for the first time, at that.</p><p>He sighed. He had really hoped this child would be kept away from his world.</p><p>She sat on a stool by the kitchen bar, arms resting on its surface, face blankly taking in her surroundings.</p><p>Ambling over to the fridge, he rummaged for something for the child to eat. Frowning when all he managed to find was toast, tangerines, and bottles of water.</p><p>He really needed to go grocery shopping soon.</p><p>Granted, he barely spent any time inside the house so he didn’t need to go shopping very often, but it was the thought that counted.</p><p>Not that he remembered to eat much during the day, anyway…</p><p>“It’s not sandwiches, but it’ll have to do for now.” He said, peeling a few tangerines and arranging the slices in a small bowl and placing it in front of her. The mention of the sandwiches seemed to lift her spirits; the corners of her mouth lifted slightly and she finally looked at him.</p><p>“I’m sorry, peanut.” The words tumbled out, unplanned.</p><p><em>I never wanted to take you away from your family again, </em>he wanted to say. <em>I never wanted to drag you back, to remind you of how we met and what it cost you.</em></p><p>So many things he wanted to say to her but he wasn’t good with words. The apology, meager as it was, was all he had to offer.</p><p>She said nothing, but she reached for a slice and presented it to him. He looked at her offered hand, then back at her.</p><p>It felt like forgiveness.</p><p>Their day was spent indoors. He had one of his guys deliver some groceries and takeout for dinner, and turned the usually neglected TV on. He put on some cartoons, but a withering glare from Elaine had him hastily changing the channel, flipping through until he settled on some action movie.</p><p>That seemed to satisfy her.</p><p>One of the perks of working for high profile clients for over a decade was having enough money to indulge in the luxury of a big house.</p><p>He led her upstairs to the room next to his bedroom. It was meant to be a guest room except a contract killer had no guests.</p><p>Still, he had bought the house already furnished and so a bed awaited the child.</p><p>He bid her goodnight and turned off the lights, closing the door behind him and going to his own room to rest.</p><p>For the second night in a row he awoke with a scream lodged in his throat, clawing and refusing to be let out.</p><p>The breathing technique didn’t work. He could feel his breath come out in pants, more gasping than breathing. He threw his blanket away and fell to his knees on the floor in his attempt to get out of bed. Hands braced on the floor, he drew sharp breath after sharp breath, willing himself to calm down. The room spun around him in vicious circles and his vision blurred.</p><p>An insidious part of his brain played pictures and sounds to torment him as he crumbled to the ground, curling into himself, arms pressed to the floor, nails dragging against the wooden floorboards.</p><p>A  beaten and bruised youthful face, laughter cut short, an unkept promise.</p><p>He detachedly registered the screaming, <em>His </em>screaming, and wondered if so much pain could kill him.</p><p>Something cool slipping into his outstretched hand stilled his thoughts for a moment and he looked up to see a blurry silhouette crouching next to him.</p><p>It took him a few moments to register Elaine’s voice speaking to him, comforting him. For some reason it just made him sob harder.</p><p>Elaine squeezed his hand and moved to sit cross legged in front of him, so that he could see her face.</p><p>She held his hand as he cried his heart out for the first time in years. He couldn’t understand how she saw him like this and chose to stay, but in his weakness he was grateful nonetheless.</p><p>As the tears subsided and his breath started to even out, he started to feel the ache of being in such a position for so long. Muscles groaned and joints cricked as he started to pull himself up, mirroring Elaine’s pose.</p><p>The emptiness he felt was only interspersed with shame knowing that this child that he had kidnapped was the one comforting him as he fell apart. The guilt threatened to swallow him whole. His eyes cast down, free hand curling into a tight ball.</p><p>“Who do you hurt for?” Her tiny voice pulled him out of the downward spiral that his mind was on the precipice of. He blinked, looking up at her with a slack expression.</p><p><em>Who do you hurt for?</em> Such a simple question. A question he’d never been asked before.</p><p>It echoed in his mind, <em>who do you hurt for, Veli?</em></p><p>“I’ll tell you.” He finally said and in the darkness of the room the words spilled out of his lips for the first time.</p><p>He told her of two boys finding each other in an orphanage, of two boys clinging to each other as the world darkened around them, of two boys escaping and living on the streets.</p><p>He told her of the boy with sun kissed skin who loved to laugh, of the boy with the black hair and honey eyes, of the boy who died in his friend’s arms with his beautiful brown skin marred and battered after a job gone wrong.</p><p>He told her of the other boy who had his world crash down on him twice, of the boy who promised to protect his friend and failed, of the boy who turned into a monster when the people who praised them for being diligent boys had turned a blind eye and left him to pick up his shattered pieces and put them back together, jagged and unrecognizable.</p><p>He told her, and she listened.</p><p>He didn’t know how long he had talked until he finished and heard the birds chirping outside the window of his room. He turned to see the sun had risen while he was in a trance, his rasping voice moving of its own accord.</p><p>Looking back at the girl, he made a decision. He got up, ignoring her questioning noise, and grabbed his phone off the bedside table.</p><p>He punched in the number that he had memorized for some reason and pressed on the call button.</p><p>“Hello?” Came Sebastian Briggs’ gruff and tired voice. Veli’s heart clenched.</p><p>“Detective Briggs.” He said simply, trusting the man to recognize his voice. He was rewarded with a string of colorful curses that would make a sailor blush. It would have made Veli laugh had it been any other time.</p><p>“I’m sending you a location.” Veli interrupted the detective’s wrathful tirade. “Be there in half an hour. Alone.”</p><p>Elaine’s quizzical brown eyes followed him as he walked back to her, offering his hand to help her up.</p><p>“Time to go home.” He told her.</p><p>Half an hour later saw them standing on the pier Veli frequented, and true to the instructions the detective approached them alone.</p><p>Veli turned to watch the horizon as the detective embraced the child and fussed over her. A hand at his shoulder yanked him around and he came face to face with the enraged face of the detective, his stormy eyes pinning Veli’s empty ones. Whatever he was about to scream at Veli was cut short by Elaine’s voice.</p><p>“Leave him alone, uncle.” Her soft words might as well had been a whip to the detective’s back considering the expression he was sporting as soon as the words left her mouth.</p><p>He let Veli go and both looked down at the girl in unison.</p><p>She reached forward and took ahold of Veli’s hand, tugging it down.</p><p>Confused, he crouched down to be on her level and froze as she slowly put her arms around his neck, squeezing tight.</p><p>A choked off sound escaped his mouth and he hesitantly hugged her back.</p><p>She pulled back a few moments later and whispered “you’ll be okay” with such conviction that he had no choice but to nod.</p><p>The detective’s stunned expression said all there is to say about the situation.</p><p>As they turned to leave, Veli reached to grab the Detective’s wrist causing him to swivel back, chest bumping into Veli.</p><p>“The Cormacs have you in their sights.” Came his whispered confession. “I don’t know why but you need to watch your back and <em>hers</em>.”</p><p>Briggs’ eyes bore into his, searching, questioning, eyebrows furrowed and body rigid. Whatever he saw in Veli’s eyes seemed to satisfy him and he nodded once before leaving.</p><p>Veli watched them go, something telling him he made a bad choice but at the same time not caring if he had.</p><p>He would protect this shred of good that he now had with his life.</p><p>
  
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Sebastian</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The sound of her screams cut short was the last thing he remembered hearing before he woke up to a white ceiling and glaring lights. He shielded his eyes against the lights and hoped he would open his eyes to find that it had all been just a bad dream. He could deal with nightmares, he couldn’t deal with it being a reality.</p><p>Sebastian’s life had never been peaceful nor quiet, but from the moment he had seen the men block the road beyond his car he knew his life would go downhill from there. And downhill it went.</p><p>Waking up in the hospital, seeing Aidan and Aunt Marie’s tear stained faces, Claire’s downcast eyes, and the absence of the two people he was seeking spoke volumes of how bad the situation was.</p><p>“Elaine’s still alive.” They told him. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or heartbroken that she was. He settled on both.</p><p>Getting her back was his top priority. He couldn’t focus on anything else.</p><p>Not on the way the flower crown covered the gash on <em>her</em> forehead, not on the way she looked so peaceful in her casket, not on the way everyone looked at him with blame in their eyes.</p><p><em>Your fault, </em>he could almost hear it.</p><p>
  <em>You brought this onto them.</em>
</p><p>Everything felt wrong. He didn’t know what to do except search and wait.</p><p>A call right after the funeral, a man giving his condolences in fake earnest, instructions for a meeting.</p><p>On the last day he was given a location.</p><p>A maximum of two escorts and <em>no guns.</em></p><p>Aidan tagged along despite being a civilian, no one could stop him from that. For all intents and purposes Elaine was his family too.</p><p>Sebastian knew whoever had taken Elaine would have tricks up their sleeve so he had clued his unit in, had them surround the factory as he went in, flanked by his partner and Aidan.</p><p>The dark insides on the building contrasted with the stark harsh light that highlighted the party waiting for them. Seeing the man sitting on the chair surrounded by his men told him all he needed to know.</p><p>Jan Cormac was seeking a punishment for Sebastian’s actions.</p><p>Talking to him proved as much. The man’s words were ones of boasting, ones of triumph. He thought he had Sebastian in the palm of his hand.</p><p>Jan pointed up to where a figure was leaning on the upper rails.</p><p>It took no time for Sebastian to recognize the man.</p><p>Veli Grayson.</p><p>Sebastian should’ve known.</p><p>The insufferable contractor saluted him before pushing back and disappearing into the darkness, only to reappear with Elaine in tow.</p><p>Watching him whisper into Elaine’s ear and the girl nodding in reply set Sebastian’s already boiling blood ablaze. Grayson would pay for what he had done.</p><p>He was momentarily grateful for the man when he whisked Elaine away as soon as the shootout ensured. Sebastian would sooner die than trust the man, but he trusted the businessman in him to keep his asset safe.</p><p>With Jan Cormac dead, he rushed up the stairs to find dead bodies littering the floor. His heart dropped and he feared the worst had happened.</p><p>What he was <em>not </em>expecting to find, however, was Veli Grayson injured and leaning on the wall with Elaine standing beside him with closed eyes.</p><p>The scene was bizarre.</p><p>What further confused him was Elaine responding to him without opening her eyes, and only doing so when Grayson told her to.</p><p>Sebastian ground his teeth when he called Elaine ‘peanut’ like he had any right to after orphaning her.</p><p>Elaine herself was different. Quieter, more reserved.</p><p><em>Emptier, </em>his mind supplied.</p><p>He supposed that was to be expected. She had lost her mother, gotten kidnapped, and witnessed horrors most children would only see in movies all in the span of one week.</p><p>She wasn’t a talkative child before, but she barely ever spoke now. Only speaking when asked a question. Sebastian’s heart clenched painfully every time he glanced at the passive expression permanently etched into her features.</p><p>The therapist they took her to cleared her for school, telling them the thing she needed most at this moment was a sense of normalcy. She would never fully recover from what she had witnessed but hopefully, in time, she would regain some of what she had lost.</p><p>Sebastian politely refused the offer for a referral to another therapist for <em>himself</em>, telling the doctor he was fine and wasn’t having any trouble adjusting.</p><p>The look that the doctor gave him suggested that he wanted to share exactly what he thought of Sebastian’s claim, but thought better of it.</p><p> Professionalism and all that.</p><p>If Sebastian was honest he would’ve admitted how broken he truly was. How he felt his insides were bleeding, how he felt responsible for her death, how he felt undeserving of the custody over Elaine.</p><p>She had named him legal guardian of her only child in the case of her demise. Despite them being divorced, they remained good friends and she trusted him with Elaine. Something he had never understood.</p><p>Sebastian Briggs was damaged goods. He woke up, he did the motions, and he went to sleep at the wee hours of the morning hoping this time he wouldn’t wake up.</p><p>How would anyone trust someone like <em>that </em>to care for their child?</p><p>But he supposed that Elaine wasn’t her child alone. Elaine felt like his own, too. Not by flesh and blood but by choice.</p><p>It took nearly a month for him to cross paths with Grayson again. A month of trying and failing to get Elaine to smile again, a month of doing his best to be everything Elaine needed, a month of wishing that <em>she </em>was there to guide him.</p><p>He was scouting the area ahead of an undercover operation with his partner when he got the call from dispatch; someone had reported an ongoing assault a street away from his current location. Upon arrival, he found a man straddling another and unreservedly beating him to a pulp.</p><p>“You. Won’t. Touch. Another. Child. Ever. Again.” His words were punctuated with punch after punch.</p><p>Sebastian rushed to save whatever’s left of the other man, grabbing the assailant and yanking him away, shouting at him to stop.</p><p>Veli Grayson stumbled a few steps back.</p><p>Checking the victim for vitals proved fruitless. The man was dead.</p><p>Grayson had killed a man and put on a show for the crowd.</p><p>He knew arresting him would do nothing but his job was to arrest criminals and this man was no exception. No matter how powerful he was.</p><p>In retrospect he shouldn’t have expected the man to go quietly, and the punch to his stomach drove the point home.</p><p>A tumble through the tables later found them back on opposite sites, Grayson baring his teeth at him in a way that set him on edge.</p><p>He wondered what horrors were trapped into the man’s smaller frame, what atrocities he was capable of committing.</p><p>His demeanor then shifted into something taunting and playful, a far cry from the ferocious animalistic behavior he had exhibited a few moments ago. It only made the detective angrier.</p><p>Sebastian left his partner behind to take care of the body and the crowd and took a handcuffed Grayson to the police station.</p><p>He ignored the looks that everyone was giving them, some were more reprehensible than others.</p><p>Sebastian was well aware of how some of his colleagues viewed his constant digging after crime lords, having been paid into compliance. The feeling of mistrust was mutual.</p><p>He pushed Grayson into his desk chair and left to talk to the captain in futile hopes of getting Grayson to court.</p><p>That went as well as he had expected.</p><p>The old captain told him what he already knew: Veli Grayson was untouchable.</p><p>Sebastian didn’t care who paid to protect this man, he just wanted him to be brought to justice. To answer for what he had done.</p><p>Veli Grayson would suffer. Sebastian would make sure of it.</p><p>Watching Grayson’s smug expression as they approached soured his mood further, but the surprise came when he agreed to spend the night at the precinct.</p><p>
  <em>What was his game? </em>
</p><p>He ignored the inappropriate remarks and pushed him inside the holding cell, closing the cell door slowly, making a show of it. Grayson could use a reminder that the immunity he had now wouldn’t last forever.</p><p>“Got something to say, detective Briggs?”</p><p>Sebastian had a lot he wanted to say to Grayson. Had a lot he wanted to <em>do </em>to him.</p><p>“You’ll pay for what you’ve done to my family.” He managed to grit out eventually.</p><p>Grayson paused. The movement of his bruised fingers gliding over the bars stopping in its tracks. His expression shifted, too fast for Sebastian to decipher, and settled on a sardonic smile.</p><p>“We all have to answer for our actions one day, detective.” He glanced up at him for a moment then turned away.“What goes around, comes around and all that.”</p><p>Something about the way he said it gave Sebastian pause, but he was too tired and, if he was being honest, could not care less about a criminal’s inner turmoil.</p><p>He left Grayson in his solitude and moved on with his day.</p><p>Dinner in his household was a quiet affair.</p><p>Upon his return from work he would find Aunt Marie had prepared food and set the table, cleaned the house and taken care of Elaine.</p><p>He didn’t know what he would’ve done without her.</p><p>He greeted her with a customary kiss to the cheek and went to change and wash up before dinner.</p><p>He found Elaine watching tv, quiet as a mouse, when he came back. He planted a kiss on the top of her hair before dropping to sit beside her. The only acknowledgment he received was her body leaning against his side when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.</p><p>Small steps.</p><p>After finishing their meal, Aunt Marie bid them goodnight and left the two watching some random action movie on tv. He and Elaine had bonded over their shared love of this type of movies before-</p><p>Before.</p><p>Halfway through the movie he pulled out his phone and called one of his colleagues on the night shift.</p><p>“Grayson causing you guys any trouble?” He told himself it was out of professional courtesy but really he just wanted a reason to go back and rough Grayson up a bit. No harm in a little fun, right?</p><p>“Uh not exactly causing trouble?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“He’s uh… singing.”</p><p>“Singing…”</p><p>Instead of replying to him, he heard a shuffling movement then he heard it: An extremely loud and off key rendition of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley.</p><p>He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in bewilderment. Even Elaine next to him looked at the device with furrowed eyebrows.</p><p>“Who’s that?” She asked and he almost missed the fact that it was the first time she voluntarily spoken in almost two months. He mentally thanked Grayson’s confounded voice for that.</p><p>“Veli Grayson.”</p><p>Her eyes shot up to his, and he cursed himself for this slip of tongue.</p><p>He watched in astonishment as she looked back at the phone, the corners of her mouth tugging up in a small smile, where Grayson had moved onto ‘Break My Stride’ by Matthew Wilder.</p><p>The man was on a nostalgia run, apparently.</p><p>“How is he?” The question took a few seconds to register. Elaine was asking about Grayson’s well-being? He couldn’t comprehend what could compel her to care about that abomination of a man.</p><p>“He-“ Sebastian cleared his throat. “He looked fine.”</p><p>She nodded and turned back to the movie when his colleague’s voice broke the moment.</p><p>He stared at the ceiling that night unable to sleep. The most positive reaction Elaine had given since the incident had been because of the man responsible for their life crashing down.</p><p>Sebastian could not for the life of him understand why.</p><p>The next morning was even more bizarre.</p><p>He was putting on his boots when he heard her footsteps and looked up. She was holding a small blue envelope.</p><p>He straightened up and looked down at her, puzzled.</p><p>“For Veli.” She clarified.</p><p>Sebastian stared at her for a long moment, waiting for her to explain, to give him a reason, anything for him to make sense of what was happening.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>She just waited patiently for him to take the envelope, and turned to leave as soon as he did, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’.</p><p>At the precinct, he found out the man Grayson had beaten to death was an unregistered pedophile. He shivered, remembering what Grayson had said while pummeling the man before Sebastian reached him.</p><p>The man being a monster didn’t excuse the public execution, though. The law was made to punish people like that. It was far from perfect, Sebastian admitted, but it was better than killing a man in cold blood on the street. And Veli Grayson was no vigilante. He had no right to take matters into his own hands.</p><p>His lawyer soon showed up and had a few private words with the captain, no doubt reminding him who held his leash, and they asked for Grayson to be brought in.</p><p>Sebastian leaned on the wall to the side and watched the proceedings with a critical eye.</p><p>Grayson sauntered into the captain’s office like he owned the place.</p><p>Then again, Sebastian mused, he might as well had.</p><p>As he made his way out as a free man with his lawyer, Sebastian remembered Elaine’s envelope and followed after them, calling Grayson’s name to get his attention.</p><p>Grayson’s inability to stay quiet once again grated on his nerves as he pulled him aside to talk in private.</p><p>It was unclear who was more perplexed by Sebastian handing over the envelope but as Sebastian watched the confusion morph into a genuine expression of unbridled joy it was evident that there were things he didn’t know. Things about the man standing in front of him staring at a drawing and things about the child who made it.</p><p>He hated the man, that was a given, but he couldn’t deny the effect he had on Elaine. It made him uneasy. What had Grayson done to warrant such a positive reaction that Sebastian himself couldn’t illicit from the child despite knowing her for most of her life? What could a damned man do to gain the favor of a child he had taken away the mother of?</p><p>It occupied Sebastian’s mind and plagued him for days afterwards, burrowing into the depths of his consciousness and festering. An ill-temper was one of his less savory characteristics but thinking about Veli Grayson worsened it even more. To the point where it was so noticeable that the captain advised him to seek therapy again.</p><p>He didn’t need therapy. It wouldn’t bring back what he had lost, what Cormac and Grayson had cost him. What he had cost himself.</p><p>He couldn’t stop, either.</p><p>Every time he tried to slow down he could feel the weight of his guilt crushing him, pushing him down, gripping his shoulders with merciless hands and shoving until he wanted nothing more than to be swallowed by the depthless chasm that constantly hovered under his weary feet.</p><p>He tried, though. He tried for Elaine. He tried for Aidan and Aunt Marie and Claire. He tried.</p><p>Some days were good; he could joke and smile, he could <em>feel</em>.</p><p>Other days were so bad he couldn’t feel a thing except the hole in his chest.</p><p>What bothered him the most was how fast he forgot the details of her face. How fast he forgot her smile. How fast he forgot her voice.</p><p>It was like a phantom pain, like still feeling a limb that wasn’t there.</p><p>She was fading quickly and it scared him. It scared him so much that he would sit and watch videos of her to remind himself that she was real. That she existed and they had memories together.</p><p>He didn’t know if it was his brain trying to protect him from the pain of remembering her or if it was normal to forget the details of someone you loved and lived with for years.</p><p>Elaine resembled her father more. Where her mother had fair skin, she had a warm tanned one. Where her mother had fiery red hair, she had a light brown. Where her mother had many freckles, she had a few moles.</p><p>Next to each other, they did not look related. But in mannerisms they were the same; both loved grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate flavored milk, both hated being the center of attention, and both had a habit of putting on socks first then the rest of their clothes.</p><p>Sebastian couldn’t remember exactly what she looked like but he could see her in Elaine. That was the only comfort he had.</p><p>A suggestion from Aunt Marie inspired him to spend more time with Elaine outside. He took her to parks to watch the ducks gliding over the water, he took her to the pier where they would watch the horizon until the sun set, he took her to cafés and watched her doodle quietly with one hand while the other held her half-eaten scone.</p><p>He took her to visit Claire, who was a dear friend of his before she was his uncle’s star apprentice and his brother’s girlfriend. He, Aidan, and Claire spent their childhood playing in the street and daydreaming about the future, they spent their teen years cocooned in each other’s company in and out of ill-matched relationships, they spent their adulthood in wildly different life directions but closer than ever before.</p><p>Claire was the first person Sebastian had talked to when he experienced a sexual identity crisis. She was the first one who told him it was okay if he liked boys only or girls only or both or neither. The first to tell him that his preference changed nothing about who he was and how much she loved him.</p><p>The one who supported him when his parents had turned their backs on him when he told them his prom date was a boy.</p><p>Seeing Veli Grayson come out of her house surrounded by his men chilled him to the bone and set fire to his entire being at the same time.</p><p>Sebastian was going to kill him if anything happened to Claire.</p><p>Elaine’s presence pulled the brakes on his desire to punch first and ask questions later. He forced himself to breathe in and behave in a civil manner, at least until she was inside.</p><p>He had to admit that pushing Grayson against the wall and almost choking him to death gave him a rush. The man’s infuriating challenge, pushing himself up further into Sebastian’s space, not minding that Sebastian was seconds away from losing control and killing him right then and there made him wonder if the man had a death wish.</p><p>Elaine’s voice calling saved him, but not before Sebastian had left angry red marks on his throat.</p><p>Claire was alright, all things considered. She assured him Grayson hadn’t hurt her and was only paying her a visit to spook her out of someone’s business. She didn’t say which person, and Sebastian was left wondering what she had gotten herself into.</p><p>A month later found Sebastian staring hard at the distressed headmistress in front of him.</p><p>Elaine was gone.</p><p>He had grown complacent and lowered his guard and this was the result. He should’ve known better, should’ve done better, to protect Elaine.</p><p>His hands shook as he argued with the captain. The old man adamantly refused to storm the known locations that Veli Grayson frequented. Sebastian was sure it was him, it couldn’t be anyone else. Did he trick Elaine with a false friendship only to take her from them again? Was he that despicable? Sebastian had no doubt that he was and it was killing him.</p><p>The captain assured him Elaine would be alright but how could he know? The last time she was taken like this her mother died. What assurance did Sebastian have that no harm would befall her?</p><p>He couldn’t sleep at all that night.</p><p>He paced the length of the house more times than he could count before the sound of his ringtone jolted him out of his thoughts.</p><p>Grayson’s hoarse voice cut his outburst short. As relieved as he was that he was giving Elaine back, something didn’t sit well with him.</p><p>Grayson sounded like he was spent. None of the usual playfulness and bravado was evident in his voice.</p><p>That alarmed Sebastian.</p><p>From what he knew, Grayson wasn’t the type of man to be affected by just anything. Whatever happened must have been truly harrowing to cause him to sound the way he did. </p><p>His racing thoughts kept him occupied as he sped through the quiet streets of the early morning. The stalls were just opening on the pier when he arrived, finding Elaine whole and hale standing next to the miscreant who snatched her away.</p><p>Looking into his vacant eyes would’ve stopped Sebastian from screaming at him had Elaine not stopped him first. The eyes that usually sparkled and crackled with wild energy were dull and lifeless. The put together look that Sebastian was used to seeing was gone and in its place was a haggard replica. His curly gray hair wild and unkempt, clothes rumpled and crinkled.</p><p>No one would’ve guessed he was one of the most feared criminals in the country.</p><p>Sebastian watched as Elaine tugged Grayson down and hugged him. As shocking as that in itself was, Sebastian was even more shocked to see the man wrap his arms around her like she could turn to dust at any moment.</p><p>For some reason it left a lump in his throat.</p><p>Just when Sebastian thought the man couldn’t be any more confusing, he went and warned Sebastian of who was after him.</p><p>Sacha Cormac.</p><p>In retrospect, Sebastian should’ve known another Cormac would pop up and not take kindly to him killing Jan. He just thought it would be the mother instead of the youngest sibling.</p><p>A whole new world of trouble just opened up and Sebastian didn’t know if he had the strength to weather it through.</p><p>The ride back home was quiet.</p><p>“He was hurting.” Elaine’s muted voice broke the silence of the car. “He <em>is </em>hurting.”</p><p>Sebastian didn’t know what to say to that. Elaine empathizing with someone who kidnapped her twice was quite concerning.</p><p>“Are you mad at me?” His head swiveled to look at her in surprise. Why would he be mad?</p><p>“What for?”</p><p>“For being friends with Veli?”</p><p>
  <em>Friends.</em>
</p><p>That was new.</p><p>He didn’t know the two had developed a strong enough bond to be considered friends, but he supposed children viewed things differently than adults did.</p><p>He assured her that he wasn’t mad, just concerned for her safety.</p><p>She told him with quite an unwavering certainty that Grayson would never hurt her. When he asked her what made her so sure, she replied with “he got shot to protect me, remember?”</p><p><em>Huh</em>.</p><p>His mind supplied him with the image of Grayson leaning against the wall, bleeding and panting, with Elaine standing next to him.</p><p>Sebastian had thought nothing of it. He certainly never expected it to be in Elaine’s defense.</p><p><em>Would that change anything, though?</em> He mused. <em>Veli Grayson was still Veli Grayson.</em></p><p>The small measure of good he had shown was not enough for Sebastian to change his opinion of him.</p><p>Or so he had told himself until three days later he opened his door in the middle of the night to find a bloody and beaten Veli Grayson standing at his doorstep, swaying on his feet, face nearly unrecognizable.</p><p>“Sacha Cormac needs to go.” He panted. “And you’re gonna help me take him down.”</p><p>He took a small step forward and collapsed, Sebastian’s reflexes kicking in and taking Grayson in his arms before he hit the ground.</p><p>Frozen in place, he stared at Grayson’s bruised and bloody face, taking in the cuts and discolored skin. Sebastian’s eyes raked over every inch of Grayson’s face, noting the way his lashes fluttered and the way his breath came in a slight wheeze.</p><p>
  <em>What have you done? </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He opened his eyes to stare groggily at a blue ceiling slightly aglow with a smattering of fluorescent stars.</p><p><em>What the fuck? </em>Was his first eloquent thought.</p><p>It took him a few moments to get his bearings, painfully blinking a couple of times to dispel the effects of sleep and flinching in pain when the movement seemed to pull at the injured skin of his face and the swelling around his eyes.</p><p>Everything came pouring back in pictures and sounds, flashing lights and immense pain.</p><p>Cormac was <em>not </em>happy.</p><p>The daylight was in full force outside the curtain covered window. Chirping birds and construction noise could be heard, alluding to the fact that he had probably rested for too long.</p><p>Rising with a groan, he made his way to the door. His shaking fingers fumbled with the switches and light flooded the room.</p><p>Light blue painted walls, maroon curtains, posters and drawings pinned to the wall with star shaped pins. A desk and its chair tucked into the corner of the room, a school backpack sitting innocently on the chair, papers and color pencils scattered on the desk’s surface. A box of toys discarded to the side of the small wardrobe, its contents neglected and covered with a light layer of dust.</p><p>Veli frowned.</p><p>The room looked like that of a child, but it didn’t <em>feel </em>like one.</p><p>There was a detached impersonality that seeped the life out of the otherwise rich colors and fun objects.</p><p>He would have known whose room it was even without remembering the events of the previous day.</p><p>A small, treacherous, voice whispered that it was his fault.</p><p>He couldn’t disagree.</p><p>With a sigh he turned to gingerly open the door, hearing clanking sounds as soon as he stepped outside the room.</p><p>He followed the noise, placing his palm against the cool wall to steady him as he walked along, the other arm wrapped around his middle, bracing his protesting sides.</p><p>He <em>definitely </em>had some cracked ribs.</p><p>In the light of the hallway he caught sight of the soft gray t-shirt and matching sweatpants that he was currently sporting where he had not noticed them before.</p><p>
  <em>Huh.</em>
</p><p>He was so sure that he was wearing a suit when Cormac had called him in. In fact, even in the privacy of his house he only wore silk pajamas. He couldn’t remember the last time he had worn sweatpants.</p><p>He couldn’t deny, though, that they felt nice on his aching skin. They smelt faintly of a generic floral scent of fabric softener.</p><p>He paused to make out what particular scent it was, his eyelids fluttering close as he tucked his chin into his chest and inhaled deeply.</p><p>Orchid.</p><p>A delicate scent, soft and subtle.</p><p>With a small smile that pulled at his split lips, he continued walking.</p><p>The hallway opened into a dining area with a joint kitchen. The dark wood paneled walls complimented the lush moss green carpeted floor. An amalgamation of framed pictures, drawings, and trinkets filled almost the entirety of the far wall, so personal that Veli had to avert his eyes. A small chandelier hung from the ceiling, its stained glass shades casting a kaleidoscope of warm light that hugged every corner and crevice of the room. A sofa was situated in the corner of the room facing a tv screen. The rich aroma of coffee permeated the air, mixed with the unmistakable smell of cooking</p><p>His eyes were drawn by the tall figure over by the stove, back muscles shifting under the light gray henley as he expertly flipped an omelette, his short dark tresses coiling slightly at his nape. Veli’s eyes slid to his hands, following his wiggling fingers moving to the beat of an unfamiliar tune he was humming under his breath.</p><p>The memory of soft fingers gently gliding over his skin flickered to mind. Pressing and probing, featherlight and urgent. Cool dampness following, stinging at first but the sound of soft hushes and a hand running up and down his arm lulled him, leaving him to drift back into unconsciousness.</p><p>He shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the man and nearly jumping out of his skin when he noticed Elaine staring at him with her head cocked to the sight, expression thoughtful.</p><p>The corners of her mouth quirked up and she turned back to the book she was holding.</p><p>“One omelette coming ri-“ Briggs’ words cut short at the sight of Veli leaning on the wooden frame of the door, his smile falling and face morphing into the mildly sour look that Veli was so familiar with. They stared at each other for a few charged moments before the detective tore his gaze away and walked over to slide the eggs into Elaine’s plate. The table was set for three people and Veli wondered whose idea it was.</p><p>“You’re awake.” Stated Briggs rather anticlimactically.</p><p>“Evidently.”</p><p>He threw Veli a thinly veiled glare and retrieved a glass of orange juice for the child, before pulling a chair for himself to sit on, fully neglecting to help Veli sit or offer him food.</p><p>
  <em>Rude.</em>
</p><p>Huffing in exasperation, Elaine cut her omelette and placed half of it in the plate to her left.</p><p>“Oh for-“ Briggs rose from his seat with a start, grabbing the plate and moving the eggs back into Elaine’s. “You eat up your food, I’ll make him <em>something </em>to eat.”</p><p>“Do you have any pancakes?” Inquired Veli with a painfully obvious fake innocent look. A vein nearly popped on Briggs’ forehead just then. Getting under his skin was <em>so </em>easy. “If not then just plain toast and some of that orange juice would do just fine, darling.”</p><p>Briggs muttered something that sounded suspiciously vulgar to himself before turning away and walking towards the kitchen. He came back minutes later with toast and a glass of orange juice, true to instructions. He placed them on what was now Veli’s side of the table and moved to go back to his place where a mug of steaming coffee awaited him before Veli’s tutting stopped him in his tracks. Veli could hear him grinding his teeth then taking a deep breath and swiveling to face him.</p><p>“What?!” He snapped.</p><p>“What kind of poor host doesn’t help their injured guest down?”</p><p>Sharp incredulousness pulled at the detective’s features, leaving a half formed disbelieving smile to fall only to be replaced by clenched teeth.</p><p>Veli watched as he moved slowly towards him, coming to stand next to him and snaking an arm around his waist, pulling Veli against him harshly. Veli grunted as the shock of sudden impact jostled his tender wounds and grabbed a fistful of Briggs’ arm to steady himself.</p><p>“Oof not so hard.” He panted. “Elaine is right there.”</p><p>Briggs looked at him with feigned sweetness and bent down to whisper in his ear, his hot breath tickling Veli’s earlobe.</p><p>“You’re lucky we have unfinished business or else I would’ve left you to die.”</p><p>Veli barely suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine and opened his mouth to throw a retort back at the detective, possibly something that would warrant further abuse, when Elaine interrupted them.</p><p>“Are you done doing whatever this is?” She asked with a bored tone. “Because I’m gonna be late for school.”</p><p>With the spell broken, Briggs grudgingly helped ease Veli into his chair and  went to grab his neglected mug, scowling and mouth twisting with disgust when he took a sip of the now lukewarm liquid. He threw a nasty look at Veli like all the wrongs in the world were his fault.</p><p>Soon enough Briggs left him to eat his breakfast quietly and took Elaine to drop her off at school before going to work, promising Veli that he was going to take the day off so he could come back and have a nice <em>talk </em>with him about whatever was going on.</p><p>If Veli was honest he was not looking forward to the talk at all.</p><p>Discussing things wasn’t his forte and he did not know how tell Briggs that he was as surprised as the man was by him coming to their house in the first place. He put no thought into where his legs were carrying him until the door opened and Briggs appeared in the doorway bathed in yellow light, almost too bright for Veli’s swollen eyes.</p><p>He had no idea why his brain flagged this place as safe enough for him to seek. He had no idea why the sight of Briggs standing in the doorway washed him with relief. He had no idea why he felt secure enough to let himself go, consciousness leaving him before his knees could hit the ground.</p><p>He placed the empty dishes in the sink and trudged tiredly around the house, half out of curiosity and half out of boredom.</p><p>The place was small, almost cramped in comparison to Veli’s house, and barely had any free space that wasn’t occupied with something or the other. Where his place was all wide spaces and sleek surfaces, this was quite the opposite: the furniture old and sporting signs of years of usage, the carpets well trodden but still soft, the light fixtures different and mismatched in every room he entered. There was no sense of impersonality. Every inch of the house was so painfully clearly loved and lived in.</p><p>Where Veli’s house was a museum with no visitors to its name, this was someone’s favorite art exhibit.</p><p>His feet took him to a room to the other side of the dining area, door opening to reveal an office area of some sort. A big desk was situated near the door, directly under the power plugs which held a conglomerate of twisting cables and cords. A computer was set in the middle of the desk surrounded by pens and papers, several empty coffee mugs, and an hourglass among other things. Fake plants were tucked in the corners between the objects that littered the surface.</p><p>Above the computer monitor, on the wall, were three big stickers of cats seemingly tearing out of the wall. They were so silly looking that Veli couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled out of him, his fingers coming up to press gently on the cuts in his lips as to not aggravate them.</p><p>Next to the desk was a bookshelf, its wood seemingly groaning under the sheer amount of books it was holding.</p><p>Veli leaned over to skim the titles; all nonfiction. He made a face. Unless a book was about history, he couldn’t excuse it not being a novel. Nonfiction books were so boring he couldn’t fathom how people enjoy reading them, let alone have them permanently on their shelves.</p><p>A plastic palm tree peaked from the corner beside the bookshelf, flanked on its other side by a black leather sofa soft and worn with age.</p><p>Shelves lined the wall opposite the desk, carrying framed pictures and souvenirs.</p><p>Veli approached one of them and surveyed the photographs. One was of a woman he didn’t recognize. She was standing in what he surmised was the kitchen, though it looked vastly different in the picture. The photo was old, the clothes and hair being a major tell. Was it his mother? Or his aunt? Veli couldn’t tell for certain.</p><p>Another was of a younger Briggs, hair shorter than it was now and clean shaven instead of sporting a light scruff. He was wearing his police uniform and holding a framed diploma in hand, smile wide and proud.</p><p>The difference between the man in the picture and the man that Veli knew was jarring. The younger version smiling at him from behind the glass panel seemed worlds away from the current one.</p><p>Veli traced a finger along the line of his smile.</p><p>The sound of a car parking outside broke him out of his reverie and he rushed to leave the room, not wanting Briggs to know he was snooping in his private things.</p><p>There was getting under his skin and there was <em>this.</em></p><p>Veli already couldn’t walk properly because of his injuries, and his preferred method of suicide didn’t include getting beaten to death and dying slowly.</p><p>He managed to reach the kitchen counter by the time he heard the front door getting unlocked, and he tried to lean as conspicuously as he could against the counter.</p><p>He heard Briggs mumble something incomprehensible before finally entering the dining room, keys jingling in hand.</p><p>He squinted suspiciously at Veli and made his way towards him, stopping a few steps away and placing his keys on the counter.</p><p>“I told Aunt Marie to stay with Aidan for a few days.” He said by a way of greeting, making his way to the coffee machine and turning it on. Veli watched him move around the kitchen and was reminded of the woman in the photo. Briggs’ movement was slow, measured, like everything was a conscious decision. His shoulders were slightly slumped and he kept rolling them every now and then.</p><p>Veli wondered as he watched how someone could look so out of place somewhere that held so many pieces of him.</p><p>“Now that we’re alone,” he spoke again, coming towards Veli and reaching to grab his hand. Veli stiffened with surprise more than pain when Briggs put a mug of steaming coffee in his hand and closed it gingerly around the mug. “Care to tell me what the <em>fuck </em>is going on?”</p><p> He momentarily ignored the question in favor of looking down at the swirling black liquid.</p><p>“It’s not poisoned, by the way.” Said Briggs. “I just made it in front of you.”</p><p>Veli huffed a laugh, almost dropping the coffee to ground when a raking cough shook his body.</p><p>“Darling, you wound me.” He wheezed. “I wouldn’t assume that of you. You’re not the type of person to poison people. You don’t have it in you, I’m afraid.”</p><p>“Why do I feel like you’re trying to avoid the situation at hand?”</p><p>“What situation at hand?”</p><p>“Grayson.”</p><p>“Briggs.”</p><p>The detective’s jaw clenched with rising ire and Veli sighed.</p><p>“Alright fine!” He took an experimental sip of the coffee and scrunched his nose in disgust. Tar thick. He abandoned the mug on the counter and pushed himself up with a grunt. “Let’s go somewhere comfortable first, shall we?”</p><p>After a bit if shuffling and fumbling, Veli found himself back in Briggs’ office, this time invited in, and sitting on one side of the sofa. Briggs sat on the other side, folding his legs underneath him and cradling his mug of atrocious coffee in both hands.</p><p>He motioned for Veli to talk.</p><p>And talk, he did.</p><p>He told him of Jan’s contract and how he was eager to see Briggs hurt. He told him of Sacha targeting Claire and Elaine. He told him of how Sacha had called him in to <em>talk</em> only to have Veli locked inside the office with eight of his men to punish him for ‘losing’ Elaine.</p><p>He managed to kill three of them before they overwhelmed him and threw him in some alleyway he didn’t recognize after dark.</p><p>He told Briggs he came here to warn him of Sacha going rabid, but in truth he still had no clue why he came here.</p><p>Veli didn’t look at Briggs when he talked. Instead, he stared at his bruised hands where cuts were just beginning to heal. He wondered how many times more he could endure something like this before rendering them useless.</p><p>“Why do they have it against you so bad, anyway?” Asked Veli eventually and looked up to see Briggs sporting an uncharacteristically uncomfortable expression.</p><p>“I’m kind of the reason why their father is dead.”</p><p>“You killed papa Cormac?!” Veli exclaimed rather enthusiastically. “<em>Detective! </em>I didn’t think you had it in you!”</p><p>“I didn’t <em>kill</em> him!” Protested Briggs. “I just made sure to put him behind bars.”</p><p>He then went on to explain how he, having just passed the detective’s exam, decided to take on one of the big families and ‘bring them to justice’. Such a foolish notion. He told Veli of how he worked with his uncle, the district attorney, and made sure that papa Cormac would be firmly behind bars for a few years.</p><p>He put one of the most hated and feared men in the city in prison, and Veli of all people knew how things worked inside those places.</p><p>What a delightful turn of events.</p><p>“How do you suggest we take them down, then?” He asked the detective after some deliberation.</p><p>“Obviously you have to come forward and testify against them and we’ll cut you a deal to keep you out of prison.”</p><p>Veli stared at him for a few moments, trying to gauge whether or not he was joking. The detective stared back with unblinking dark eyes.</p><p>Veli burst out in laughter, doubling over and wheezing with a mixture of incredulous sniggering and stabbing pain. Bending over had jostled his cracked ribs and left him gasping for breath.</p><p>“Stop laughing, you’re hurting yourself you fucking idiot!” He heard Briggs say but he was too busy trying to stop a cough from escaping his throat fearing it might just do the trick and break a rib or two if he let it out.</p><p>Hands grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to lean back on the sofa.</p><p>It took him a few moments of drawing sharp breaths before he managed to calm himself down.</p><p>“Briggs.” He panted. “Take this as your sign to never become a comedian.”</p><p>Briggs’ answering scathing glare spoke volumes of what the man thought about Veli’s reaction. Not that Veli was to be blamed here. Briggs’ suggestion was the most outrageously hilarious thing he had heard in a long time.</p><p>Veli Grayson? Turning himself in and <em>snitching</em> on someone? What a silly thought.</p><p>He might as well walk around with a target painted on his forehead and wear a sign that said “shoot me”.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Sebastian</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Grayson laughed at his suggestion so hard he almost hurt himself.</p><p>Evidently, Sebastian didn’t think he would agree to it immediately but he didn’t expect the man to find the idea so laughable.</p><p>It irked him.</p><p>He could think of no other way to take down Cormac, and he told Grayson as such.</p><p>“That’s because you’re not used to thinking outside the box.” He told Sebastian once he had recovered from his outburst, leaning back to rest his head on the sofa and closing his eyes. “Small and blue tinted as it is. But that’s where I come in.”</p><p>He went on to suggest a few plans off the top of his head. Each one more outrageous than the other.</p><p>One of them being that they just go to a family meeting and shoot every one of them dead. As much as that sounded nice to Sebastian’s ears, it was just unrealistic.</p><p>Unlike Grayson, Sebastian wasn’t a criminal who killed people on a whim.</p><p>The way he talked nonchalantly about massacring an entire family of people, guilty as they may be, grated on Sebastian’s nerves. His eyes still shut, his voice light and humorous as if they weren’t discussing a serious matter. He reached up to tuck a loose curl behind his ear and scratch at his beard before dropping his arm to cradle his bruised side.</p><p>Sebastian’s eyes were fixed at the way he kept patting the the soft fabric of the shirt, rubbing circles and smoothing away at the wrinkles, and he wondered if he had underestimated the extent of the injuries. They looked <em>bad</em> when Sebastian had removed Grayson’s clothes and checked his discolored skin, cleaning the cuts and dressing them before they got infected. The fact that Grayson didn’t cough blood or have major difficulties in breathing eased his mind enough. Although now he was wondering if he should get him to a doctor.</p><p>He didn’t know any <em>discreet </em>doctors, though.</p><p>Grayson would have to make do with what Sebastian did for now, then.</p><p>The man <em>was </em>good for something after all, Sebastian mused, when he suggested something that could realistically work: “we could work on the down low, from the base up and dig up as much dirt as we can until we have enough to bring him to court and dear old uncle could handle the rest like he did with papa Cormac.”</p><p>“What, like infiltrating them?”</p><p>Grayson answered with a hum.</p><p>“And going undercover?”</p><p>Another hum. Then: “well <em>you </em>would be undercover. Everyone recognize my handsome face so I’ll have to go as myself.” Sebastian grimaced at him. Not that Grayson could see him do so, anyway. It was the thought that mattered.</p><p>The more Sebastian thought about it the more plausible it sounded to him. He hadn’t gone on many undercover jobs but the few that he’d done were successful and so he was hopeful.</p><p>“There is one thing left.” And he had a feeling Grayson wouldn’t like it. He would have to get over himself, though.</p><p>“What is it?” Grayson cracked open an eye to peak at him, neck craned back to get a better look.</p><p>“We’re gonna have to bring Claire into it.”</p><p>Grayson’s face slackened and both eyes were open to fix Sebastian with a piercing look. Sebastian figured that the argument that followed was to be expected. There was no love lost between the two, not after their first encounter. He imagined Claire would have the same reaction if not worse.</p><p>He just needed to tell her first.</p><p>He trusted Aunt Marie not to spill the secret so he also had to break the news that Veli Grayson was their guest for the foreseeable future to Aidan and Claire.</p><p>Granted, he could placate Aidan easily enough. Claire was a different matter altogether.</p><p>She had a personal vendetta against Grayson and she wasn’t the kind of person to have an outburst immediately.</p><p>She had a quiet fury, unrelenting and unforgiving. She never forgets a wrongdoing and rarely forgives those who commit it.</p><p>Sebastian wished she would put their differences aside, as he did, to work their way out of this mess. For all their sakes.</p><p>It was going to be a long and arduous process and he needed his friends by his side.</p><p>He couldn’t trust Grayson. Not when his motives were unclear as they were.</p><p>Sebastian didn’t understand why he gave Elaine back, nor why he came here after Cormac had punished him. Surely he had his men that he could count on? Why not work with <em>them</em> to take Cormac down? Why come to Sebastian of all people?</p><p>What was his game?</p><p>Eventually Sebastian managed to convince him, albeit with difficulty, that this was the best course of action and watched as Grayson stared him down for a long moment before cursing colorfully and asking Sebastian to lend him a phone. He needed to make some calls.</p><p>He observed curiously as the contractor heaved himself up with a grunt and paced around the room while calling several people, delegating jobs to some and tasking the others with dissecting the youngest Cormac’s inner circle and <em>their </em>inner circles and so on. He made sure to emphasize on the importance of getting a full report on who is who and their respective jobs in relation to Sacha.</p><p>It was fascinating, if somewhat morbid, to watch Grayson be the man his reputation painted him as. Commanding and ruthless.</p><p>It was nothing like in the movies where the boss barks a vague order and his men would magically give him everything he needed. Grayson was so detail oriented that it was hard for someone like Sebastian, who didn’t know the ins and outs of the underground, to keep up. So many names and code words were flying by and Sebastian wondered if any of them were linked to any current operations that his people were investigating. Not that he could remember any of them to be of help, anyway.</p><p>The next morning he was surprised to see Grayson was already up when he left Aunt Marie’s room. He had relocated the man from Elaine’s room to Sebastian’s and Sebastian took Aunt Marie’s room instead. She explicitly said she wanted him nowhere near her room before she left and so Sebastian obliged.</p><p>“What are you doing up so early?” He asked, his distrust poking through and lacing his words.</p><p>Grayson paused in the hallway and turned back to face him. The cuts on his face were starting to heal and the bruises had faded faintly but the bags under his eyes were worse than the day before. Did he not sleep well?</p><p>“I need to go somewhere.” He rasped. His voice sounded much like it had the morning he called him to return Elaine. Sebastian’s nostrils flared in irritation and he took a few menacing steps forward.</p><p>Grayson didn’t so much as blink.</p><p>“What the fuck do you mean out?!” He demanded.</p><p>“I’m not in the mood, Briggs.” He bit out, some fire returning to his tone. “And as far as I can tell, I’m not your prisoner.”</p><p>Wrong thing to say.</p><p>Sebastian immediately flew at him, grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling him forward forcefully.</p><p>“Listen to me very carefully, asshole.” He spat, easily towering over Grayson’s shorter frame. “<em>You </em>came to <em>me!” </em>His tone was steadily rising as he stared the man down. “You came into <em>my life </em>and ruined everything! Just because you did <em>one small good thing</em> by returning Elaine that doesn’t mean you’re absolved of your crimes!”</p><p>“I didn’t ask you to absolve me!” Grayson shrieked back, face so red that the bruises stood out in stark contrast, blotching his olive skin. “I don’t give a <em>fuck </em>about what you think about me or how irredeemable I am but guess what? I’m not here for you!”</p><p>“Why <em>are </em>you here, then?” Sebastian shot back quickly.</p><p>A door creak startled the two men into turning towards the sound, noticing Elaine standing in the door, anxiously bunching up the fabric of her nightdress. Sebastian’s heart twinged at the sight and he cursed himself inwardly for arguing with the damnable man.</p><p>He just couldn’t help the way Grayson’s mere existence seemed to push all his buttons.</p><p>He instantly let go of Grayson and rushed to Elaine’s side. The way she flinched when he reached to lay a hand on her shoulder froze him in place.</p><p>She never reacted that way with him.</p><p>Swallowing down the lump in his throat and ignoring the way his insides turned with disgust towards himself, he retracted his arm and let it hand limply by his side as he crouched down in front of her.</p><p>“Did we wake you up, peanut?” He tried to make his voice sound light and even attempted a smile, to no avail.</p><p>“What were you fighting about?” She asked shakily.</p><p>“We weren’t-“</p><p>“I wanted to leave the house and he didn’t like that.” Grayson interrupted with a calmness that juxtaposed his earlier outburst.</p><p>Elaine’s eyes were fixed above Sebastian’s shoulder to stare unblinkingly at Grayson for a few moments. After some deliberation she asked “Why do you want to leave.”</p><p>“It’s my friend’s birthday.”</p><p>The casual manner in which he spoke relit the dying embers of rage that resided in his chest.</p><p>
  <em>A friend’s birthday? </em>
</p><p>Did Grayson think they were in such a situation that permitted social calls? Cormac tried to <em>kill him </em>and he <em>still </em>wanted to visit a friend while he could barely walk from his injuries?! What manner of man was he?</p><p>Elaine’s reaction to the statement perplexed him more than the statement itself. Her eyes lit up with understanding and her body sagged slightly from the rigid pose she was holding it in. Her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment then she raised her chin in a way much like the way her mother did when she made up her mind about something that he was guaranteed to not approve of.</p><p>That alone caused sirens to go off in his mind.</p><p>“<em>No.” </em>Both he and Grayson replied in unison.</p><p>“I won’t let you accompany him into whatever rat nest he’s planning on visiting!” Sebastian grit out, carefully reigning in his temper for her sake.</p><p>“It’s not a rat nest and it’s not dangerous.” She replied. “You can come if you want.”</p><p>Any protest they had didn’t seem to deter the child anyway, for she ignored them both and made her way past them and to the bathroom.</p><p>Sebastian was left reeling in his place crouched on the floor.</p><p>“I’m gonna need my suit back.” Said Grayson and Sebastian wanted nothing more than to punch him on his infuriating mouth right then and there.</p><p>The surprises didn’t end there, as it would appear. Elaine made her way down minutes later in a black dress she had worn when he had taken her to her mother’s grave and she was carrying a satchel.</p><p>He insisted that he would drive and so Grayson only had to punch in the address in the car’s gps and they were good to go.</p><p>The destination turned out to be a small cemetery tucked into the heart of town. Such a grim place for someone to spend their birthday, but who was he to judge? Maybe they had an affinity to the macabre.</p><p>He was starting to suspect that they were early when Grayson stopped in front of a particular headstone and just stood there staring at it.</p><p>He watched with increasing curiosity as Elaine walked away from his to stand beside the man.</p><p>“Is this…” she trailed off, looking up at Grayson for confirmation, to which he nodded minutely.</p><p>The child then unexpectedly moved to crouch beside the grave and place her satchel on the ground.</p><p>“Happy birthday.” She whispered to the stone like she was talking to an old friend.</p><p>Everything clicked into place then and Sebastian felt shame wrap around his throat like a tightly wound scarf. A child understood what he was too hasty in his anger to understand.</p><p>It didn’t matter whether someone was good or bad when it came to loss. Loss cowered before no saint nor sinner. No matter how stained a person’s ledger was, everyone deserved a chance to mourn in peace.</p><p>Grief was not to be rushed, not to be stifled, not to be underestimated. It was a heavy woolen coat in the midst of summer, weighing you down and overwhelming your senses. It was the pebble in your shoe and you had no choice but to continue walking. It was the knife twisting in your insides making you bleed out but not enough to kill you outright.</p><p>Grief and sorrow were his loyal companions and yet he failed to recognize them in Grayson’s vacant eyes, so focused as he was on his own ghosts.</p><p>“I’m sorry I couldn’t get you anything this time.” He heard Grayson whisper, voice thick with emotion. “Another promise I couldn’t keep.”</p><p>“It’s alright.” Elaine’s voice tore his attention away from the back of Grayson’s head. “I brought something instead.”</p><p>She proceeded to open her satchel and retrieve several objects. Sebastian craned his neck to see better as she lined them on the gravestone: a blue scarf, a candle, a small rectangular object that he couldn’t recognize from this distance, and a book.</p><p>“So you won’t get cold.” She explained to the headstone and wrapped the scarf around it, tying it to secure it in place. The rectangular object turned out to be a lighter that she used to light the candle.</p><p>“It’s lavender.” She told the stone. “It was her favorite.”</p><p>He had no time to ponder on the fact that Elaine had a <em>lighter </em>in her personal possession and watched as she grabbed the book with one hand and walked back to a frozen Grayson, tugging him with the other to sit cross legged on the ground facing the grave.</p><p>Sebastian himself sat down and leaned his back on the cool stone of someone’s final resting place.</p><p>He listened as Elaine explained to Grayson, <em>and </em>the grave, that the book she was holding was her favorite. How her mother used to read it to her every night, making unique voices to match the different characters, sometimes even enacting some of the scenes for her entertainment.</p><p>He listened with bated breath as she asked Grayson to read it to his friend the way her mother used to read it to her.</p><p>He listened as the man obliged the child’s request. He read slowly, raspy voice scratching at the syllables, dry and hoarse, stumbling over some words but recovering quickly. His voice strengthened with every paragraph he read, solidifying and taking shape.</p><p>After he finished they sat there in silence. Not an uncomfortable one but rather a companionable one.</p><p>“I’m going to tell you a secret but only if you tell me one in return.” Elaine broke the quiet of the dreary cemetery.</p><p>“Alright.” Answered Grayson. “Tell me.”</p><p>“I can’t cry.” She said and Sebastian felt the tips of a thousand knives pressing at the flesh of his beating heart. “I tried but I can’t cry anymore.”</p><p>He wanted to say something, anything, but it felt like too private a moment for him to interfere in. Their own quiet bubble where she felt safe enough to share something she’d never shared with her own family. With Sebastian. She felt safe with a killer but not with Sebastian.</p><p>“Now it’s your turn.”</p><p>“I’ll tell you something that I’ve never ever told anyone before but you must promise me you’d never spill, alright?”</p><p>“I promise.”</p><p>He paused for a moment, heaving a great big breath and releasing it in a loud exhale.</p><p>“When I was twenty three I broke my left toe on a job and to this day it twitches every time I sneezed.” A startled giggle escaped Elaine’s mouth and he heard the unmistakable sound of her smacking her mouth in surprise.</p><p>Sebastian fought a smile of his own at the ridiculously gravelly framed confession. He closed his eyes to savor the sound of Elaine’s laughter. He had missed it dearly.</p><p>“This never happened.” Grayson grunted as he brushed past him on his way out and Sebastian nodded even though the man could no longer see it.</p><p>Sebastian walked the short distance towards the grave and read the plaque. Under the name he could see that the boy was fifteen years of age and had died about thirty years ago,</p><p>
  <em>Who was he?</em>
</p><p>When they went back home, they had a quiet dinner before Elaine migrated to the sofa to watch a movie. This time she invited Grayson to sit with her.</p><p>After spending half their day sitting in the cold soil of the cemetery, he couldn’t begrudge either of them the reprieve. He pushed away the stab of hurt at the fact that she didn’t invite <em>him</em> to watch it with her and went to go over some case notes while he had the time to do so.</p><p>When he returned he found the duo fast asleep on the sofa, Grayson’s head lolling to the side and Elaine’s head resting on his shoulder at an uncomfortable angle.</p><p>He walked over and bent down to retrieve Elaine’s sleeping form, watching as Grayson swayed momentarily but managed to hold. He carried her to bed, tucking her in and turning off the light. He watched her peaceful face in the dim light of the neon stars for a moment before leaving.</p><p>He paused at the top of the stairs and before he could think better of it he padded down and stopped in front of the sofa debating whether or not he should wake the man up to go sleep in his room.</p><p>He settled on helping him lay down where he was, the cushion on the corner of the sofa serving as a pillow. He pushed Grayson’s hair away from his face and stared in silence at the hurricane of a man who looked as peaceful at that moment as a soft summer breeze.</p><p>Tomorrow, they would have to meet with Claire and face her wrath.</p><p>Sebastian sighed and turned to leave. Sleep would evade him as it was always the case but he was going to need all the rest he could get.</p><p>Someone had to mediate between the devil and the vindictive fury of one Claire Preston.</p><p>And that someone had to be him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You mind telling me why there’s a package addressed to ‘Veli Grayson’ sitting on my doorstep first thing in the morning?” Said the detective by way of greeting as soon as Veli stepped foot in the kitchen. Veli ignored him in favor of making a beeline towards the cardboard box innocuously sitting on the counter.</p><p>“Well good morning to you too.” He mumbled as he felt the box for the edge of the clear tape on the side, making a little victorious “aha!” when he found it. He opened the box and surveyed its contents, humming to himself in satisfaction.</p><p>“Come get a look for yourself instead of standing there like a menacing tree.” He pushed the box slightly forward in invitation and went to make himself a decent coffee. There was no way he was going to let Briggs make him a coffee again after tasting the sludge that the man passed for the brew.</p><p>He smirked when he heard Briggs shuffle slowly towards the package. That man was as curious as they come, though he tried to hide it.</p><p>“A suit?” His incredulous tone caused Veli to swivel to look at him, noticing the way he was holding the suit jacket up with the tips of his fingers like it personally offended him.</p><p>“Put it down you’re gonna get it rumpled!” Veli protested immediately.</p><p>“Aren’t you overreacting?”</p><p>“Well, would you iron it for me if it gets rumpled?”</p><p>“<em>Hell </em>no.”</p><p>“There you go!”</p><p>Briggs scoffed and made a show of putting the jacket back in place with a fake smile that crinkled the skin around his dark eyes.</p><p>Soon enough the coffee’s rich aroma filled the kitchen and Veli, being the generous man that he was, offered the detective a mug as well. The ungrateful man remarked that he didn’t know Veli drank watered down coffee, and Veli, in turn, remarked that Briggs’ tastebuds were not to be blamed for not recognizing quality coffee when all the man offered them was tar.</p><p>Elaine walked in just as the argument turned heated and the two men deflated when they heard her uncharacteristically loud footsteps.</p><p>Veli gave her a smile and excused himself to go change his attire, carrying the box with one arm and ruffling her hair with his free hand on his way out , and leaving the detective to awkwardly offer the child breakfast.</p><p>What the detective had failed to notice under the suit were a cellphone and a small object that posed as a lighter but upon further inspection, and with pressing the correct button, it would reveal itself to be a pocket knife. A useful little thing in a pinch.</p><p>He didn’t want to bring any bigger weapon into this house. He could hide anything well enough, but it wouldn’t have been fair to Elaine.</p><p>After what she had done in the cemetery, he vowed to himself that he would never break her trust. The memory of her voice talking to the headstone clung to him and wrapped itself around him like the softest of blankets. Her kindness and care towards the boy despite never knowing him warmed Veli’s insides.</p><p>Feeling lighter in spirit, if not in body, he set his suit on the mattress and gingerly pulled his borrowed t-shirt off, the edges of the soft fabric tickling his sensitive skin. He inspected his torso, noting the expanse of the big bruise blooming over his side, and the smaller ones peppering his abdomen and other side. He gently pressed the tips of his fingers and hissed in pain when the touch aggravated the tender dark blue skin.</p><p>A tired sigh escaped his slightly parted lips.</p><p>It would take a few weeks for the ribs to heal.</p><p>He would have to restock on painkillers if he wanted to get back into the swing of things by the next day.</p><p>He retrieved the phone and the knife after carefully slipping on the suit and making sure he looked presentable, grabbing a comb from Briggs’ vanity and working through the knots in his tousled curls. He ran the comb through his beard too, pretending it was long enough to be combed, and patted his cheeks and neck with a little stolen cologne.</p><p>Briggs’ room was simple enough. Bed and vanity a similar shade of the floor’s dark wood, plain white sheets covering the mattress and pillow, white curtain covering the only window. It would’ve looked like a hospital room if it wasn’t for the few age worn posters on the wall over the bed, and several framed photographs of what seemed to be Briggs and his brother. One of the pictures had a third person: a gap toothed dark haired boy that Veli felt like he had seen before. Something about his thick eyebrows and straight jet black hair strummed at the edge of Veli’s mind but evaded him every time he tried to catch it.</p><p>He left the photographs be and went to check himself one more time in the mirror, eyes gliding over the black eyes, and several bruises marring his skin, and fleetingly holding their reflection in the mirror before scurrying past.</p><p>There was no showing weakness today.</p><p>When Veli returned, the detective was talking to the child.</p><p>“Since it’s the weekend, and your birthday is coming up, you can play with it.” He said, handing Elaine a rectangular object.</p><p><em>Her birthday was coming up? </em>Veli wondered to himself as he stood in the doorway unnoticed by the duo. He had to find out exactly which day it was and get her something nice. He internally shuddered at the prospect of asking the detective for help, but it had to be done.</p><p>“Thank you, uncle.” Replied Elaine, quietly but voice tinged with the shadow of a smile. Veli’s attention was fixed on the smile that slowly stretched on the detective’s face, lighting up his face and making him look years younger. It suited him. He was much more handsome while smiling than he was while brooding. Veli only registered that he was smiling along when it pulled painfully at the split in his lip.</p><p>Briggs opened his mouth to say something but he noticed Veli leaning against the doorframe and the smile stuttered on his face as he looked Veli up and down, falling completely when his eyes settled on Veli’s face and found the man raising his eyebrows at him.</p><p>“Like what you see?” Questioned Veli and gasped theatrically when the man had the audacity of shrugging noncommittally like Veli wasn’t a god amongst men in his custom tailored midnight blue suit.</p><p>“I’m sorry you have no taste.” Veli said, hand reaching to rest over his heart in a mournful display. “But I guess God gave you that pretty face and decided that had to be enough.”</p><p>Briggs’ lips twitched slightly and he rolled his eyes, reaching for his jacket and moving to leave.</p><p>Veli watched him, fingers patting his dry lips and picking at the scabs. The detective stalked towards him, eyes drawn by the hand on the lips and when he was close enough he reached a hand to slap it away.</p><p>Startled and speechless, Veli only stared at the man incredulously.</p><p>“Stop picking at it or it’ll scar.” He warned with the grave tone of a scolding parent.</p><p>“Scars are sexy.” Veli shot back and Briggs made a face at him and shook his head. He paused next to Veli and inhaled deeply, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Veli who merely batted his eyelashes innocently at the detective. Briggs pursed his lips and grabbed Veli by the arm, dragging him along.</p><p>“I’m going to run a few errands and pick up our guests.” He told him, finally releasing him and bending to put on his shoes. “I’ll be back before lunch.”</p><p>He looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it at the last moment then proceeded to turn around and leave.</p><p>What an odd man.</p><p>“Right.” He clapped his hands together to capture Elaine’s attention. “The adult is gone! What should we do now?”</p><p>“You’re an adult too, V.” She said, too busy clicking at the black rectangular object in her hand to notice Veli malfunctioning at the nickname. He filed it for later, no time to have a breakdown about getting a nickname, and ambled to sit next to her. He identified the object to be a handheld game console.</p><p>He hasn’t seen one of <em>those </em>in a while.</p><p>Elaine was controlling a small childlike character on the screen and she seemed to be walking around a village of some sort? He wasn’t sure. It was all green, anyway.</p><p>“Well,” he answered at last. “I’m the fun adult and your uncle is an asshole.”</p><p>Her thumbs paused their movement, suspending the onscreen child mid conversation with what seemed to be a brown owl wearing a bowtie.</p><p>“Is that why you two fight a lot?” She asked timidly.</p><p>He contemplated her question, sensing it would be counterproductive to crack a joke in response. “Well, he and I are very different people and we didn’t exactly meet in the best circumstances, did we?” He placed a hand atop her head to smooth her hair absentmindedly while he spoke. “I think it’s only natural that our personalities would clash.”</p><p>She remained quiet.</p><p>“Does it bother you?” He asked her and felt her shrink on herself.</p><p>“Mom and dad used to fight a lot, too.” She admitted quietly.</p><p>That was new. She had never mentioned her father before. Veli turned his attention on the smiling character as he turned his thoughts around, trying to come up with a good response. In the end he settled for asking her if she wanted to tell him about it.</p><p>It took her a few moments to get her bearings. Veli could almost see the way she was gearing up and mustering the courage to tell him, and his heart swelled in affection at this child who has been through so much and yet was still so brave and strong. Although it made him sad that she had to be like this at such a young age.</p><p>She started slowly, telling him in short sentences what seemed to be things her mother had told her. About a young woman who fell in love but her parents had disapproved so she had run away with her lover. About a young woman who lived a few happy years and even had a baby daughter that filled her life with joy. About a young woman who loved her family very deeply.</p><p>Then things took a turn and seemed to be coming from Elaine’s perspective instead. About a man who started coming home late and an agitated woman who always looked sad. About a man who started shouting and yelling every time his wife asked him where he was and a woman who broke down in tears after every fight. About a man who got arrested and left his wife and five year old daughter alone with no one on their side but his partner who was a dear family friend.</p><p>Veli started putting the pieces together and the picture seemed a lot clearer now. A deadbeat dad, a scared mom, and a kind friend.</p><p>Clearer, but no close to being full.</p><p>He put his arm around the child and pulled her into a side hug. He apologized for his behavior and promised her he would try and be nicer to her uncle, but at the same time made sure she understood that some things, like Briggs’ actions and Veli’s own temperament, were out of his control. She nodded and thanked him for trying.</p><p>A buzzing in his breast pocket alerted him to a phone call. Unsurprisingly, it was one of his people reporting about a contract.</p><p>Elaine’s attention was piqued by the flow of the conversation and she watched him attentively as he paced the room.</p><p>“Extracting information without a scratch on the asset’s body?” He questioned. “Does he <em>know </em>who we are?”</p><p>“I told him the exact same thing, boss.” Replied Mel, his coordinator, with a sigh. “But he insisted on us being the ones who handle it because it’s his son.”</p><p>“I’m sorry what was that? His <em>what now?”</em></p><p><em>“</em> yeah boss the asset is his son and he doesn’t want him physically harmed.”</p><p>“Okay… okay we can work with that. We’ve worked with weird requests before.”</p><p>He told Mel he would trust them to do their best and he would think of something and get back to them later.</p><p>He hung up the phone and released a long sigh, dropping down, leaning back in the chair, and closing his eyes. He felt a nudge to his side and peaked a look at Elaine, who asked him what was wrong. He told her of the situation at hand and how they needed to extract sensitive information from a young man without inflicting any type of bodily harm on him, which was kind of their forte, and send him back without him knowing his father had been the one to order the operation in the first place.</p><p>It was a slippery slope and he needed to think of a way to get it done without losing the faith of a high profile client. Word never got out about the fallout between him and Cormac and he figured it was because Sacha intended this as a slap on the hand. That would mean he would still do business with Veli and Veli needed to be sure not to disappoint him again or the price would be his head, or worse, next time.</p><p>Remembering the pocket knife that he had received earlier, he figured he would show it to Elaine before her uncle came stomping back. She was delighted by the demonstration of how an innocent lighter could be opened to reveal a sharp blade. More so when he offered it to her and promised he would teach her how to wield one. It would take time and practice but she was a quick learner and had a lot of potential.</p><p>True to his word, Briggs came back just before lunch time with two individuals in tow: Claire he had met before, and as he took a good look at Aidan he realized he had seen him all those months ago at Jan’s factory.</p><p>Both of their faces soured at the sight of Veli sitting cross legged on the chair in the kitchen, talking on the phone with another of his men, with Elaine playing her little game in the chair next to him.</p><p>He held up a finger in the direction of the arriving party and took his sweet time finishing up the phone call.</p><p>“What do we have here?” He asked in a sing song voice as soon as his phone was safely in his pocket, giving them a grin as wide as his split lip allowed. “It’s the bootleg three musketeers in all their glory!”</p><p>Briggs rolled his eyes and walked over to place several plastic bags of takeout on the table. They smelled of Indian food.</p><p>Veli <em>loved </em>Indian food.</p><p>“Hi uncle Aidan, hi aunt Claire.” Greeted Elaine, momentarily tearing her attention away from the screen to give them a small wave before focusing back on her game.</p><p>The duo seemed a little disheartened by her lack of enthusiasm but they brushed it off and focused their heated glares back on Veli, who wiggled his eyebrows at them with a smirk.</p><p>Briggs went to wash his hands and came back, throwing a warning glance at Veli, and asked the adults to follow him to the study to have a few words.</p><p>As soon as he closed the door, chaos ensued; Briggs had to jump back to restrain his brother from taking a swing at an unperturbed Veli, who merely raised an eyebrow in response. Insults and threats poured from Aidan’s mouth, nothing Veli hadn’t heard before. The man wasn’t even creative with them, either. Veli found uncreative people extremely tiresome and so he paid him no mind.</p><p>Claire, on the other hand, hadn’t moved an inch from her place in the center of the room. She stood there, fisted hands slightly shaking with barely suppressed fury hanging at her sides, thick brows creased over her stormy dark eyes, and her mouth a thin line.</p><p>Seeing her at that moment reminded him of the boy in the photograph. Perhaps they were related?</p><p>She didn’t scream at him or hail insults. She just stood and stared at him.</p><p>If she was trying to intimidate him, it wasn’t working. Unnerving as it was, what she was doing wasn’t intimidating.</p><p>There were precious few things in the world that truly sprouted fear in Veli Grayson’s heart, and a glare of pure contempt from a stranger that he had hurt wasn’t one of them.</p><p>He stared back unreservedly, peeling off some of the layers and letting a glint of his true self shine through.</p><p>The manner in which she slightly paled informed him that she <em>saw </em>what he had intended for her to see.</p><p>And yet she held firm.</p><p>
  <em>Interesting.</em>
</p><p>A knock on the door put a stop to the shouting match, tearing Veli’s attention away from the woman and the door swung open to reveal Elaine clutching her device firmly in hand. She padded into the room, unbothered by her red and sweaty uncles to the side, her statue of an aunt in the middle, and strode towards Veli, who was leaning on the opposite side. She reached into the bulging pocket of her pajama bottoms with her free hand and procured a single tangerine, offering it to Veli.</p><p>“You forgot to eat breakfast.” She explained. “And this sounds like it’s gonna take a while.”</p><p>He accepted the fruit with a barely suppressed smile at the dig and patted her head in thanks. She walked back where she came from, but a few feet from the door she paused and looked back at him.</p><p>“About Mel’s problem..” she trailed off thoughtfully, cocking her head to the side. Veli stood straighter in interest, eager to hear what Elaine had to offer. “Maybe they should try that thing you did in the precinct?”</p><p>He narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to remember what she meant. The only precinct visit she could know about is the one where her uncle had taken him in…</p><p>
  <em>Ah.</em>
</p><p>A metaphorical lightbulb lit up in his mind and he snapped his fingers a few times, smile growing bigger. He heard Aidan mutter “what the hell is going on here” as he fished his phone out and dialed Mel’s number.</p><p>“Yes boss?” They answered within a few seconds.</p><p>“A little birdie told me to ask if you had any speakers on hand.”</p><p>“What are you doing?” Interrupted Briggs. “Elaine, what’s the meaning of this?!” Veli held out a hand to stop him. His mouth snapped shut and his jaw clenched angrily.</p><p>“… yes? I think so? What are we gonna need them for?” Came Mel’s reply.</p><p>“For your little problem: copacabana, on repeat, at top volume.”</p><p>There was a small pause then a breathy chuckle, “boss, you’re a genius.”</p><p>He hung up the phone and pointed at Elaine saying “thanks, peanut, I owe you one.”</p><p>“I want a three months Nintendo online subscription.”</p><p>“I have no idea what that means but consider it done.”</p><p>He made a finger guns gesture at her and she smirked smugly before turning to leave.</p><p>As the door clicked close, Veli’s smile dropped entirely and he turned his passive expression onto the seething individuals to his right. Their faces displayed a plethora of emotions, the most prominent of which were confusion and disapproval. The former from Aidan and the latter from his esteemed older brother, who looked like he was a hair breadth away from snapping and punching the daylights out of Veli.</p><p>“I want a private word with Grayson.” Claire’s authoritative tone snapped their collective attention towards the woman, but she had eyes only for Veli at that moment.</p><p>To his surprise, the brothers silently slinked out of the room, but not before Briggs grabbed him by the bicep and whispered “Don’t think I’m letting this go, asshole.”</p><p>“Looking forward to <em>that</em> particular talk, love.” Veli gave him a too-innocent-to-be-believed smile and watched the detective snarl in response, his eyes burning bright with resentment.</p><p>Claire Preston stalked forward as soon as the two had left them alone, stopping mere inches from Veli’s face, and pressing a long nailed finger to his chest.</p><p>“You mind telling me what the <em>fuck </em>you’re doing with that child?” She hissed, face contorting in an unpleasant manner.</p><p>“Yes I do.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You asked if I mind and I’m telling you yes. Yes I mind.”</p><p>Her nail dug uncomfortably further into the skin of his chest and he gave her a sharp smile. He knew what she was trying to do and he admired her gall.</p><p>“Don’t play games with me, Grayson.” She warned. “Why the fuck is Elaine behaving so strangely with you?!”</p><p>“Strangely?” He questioned with a raised eyebrow. “You mean treating me like a normal human being?”</p><p>“You killed her mom! She shouldn’t be treating you like anything other than the animal that you are!”</p><p>He told himself that she was only aggravating him to test his limits. To see his reaction. To judge for herself if he can be trusted enough.</p><p>He told himself he should not rise to her bait. That he was above being goaded into digging a hole for himself to lie in. That this was nothing he hadn’t encountered before, hadn’t heard before. That he was better than stooping so low to defend himself to someone who didn’t know him.</p><p>But was he really?</p><p>He knew that what she said was true. It was a fact that would eat at him for the rest of his days. But for some reason her words stung.</p><p>Not because he valued himself so much, <em>gods no.</em> But perhaps because he had started to allow himself to indulge. Indulge in Elaine’s company and friendship. Indulge in the detective’s attention, negative as it was. Indulge in the fantasy that this life could be his if he wanted to. That once Sacha was gone maybe he and the detective could put their differences aside and become not friends but on amicable enough terms for him to see them often. To be included in their small family.</p><p>He craved it. He craved their domesticity and their simple, straightforward way of life. He craved a warm home and a feeling of life within its walls. And above all, he craved <em>love.</em></p><p>The sort of love that kept these people standing and together after tragedies.</p><p>Maybe he was bothered by her words because they reminded him that he could never have that. That even if Elaine’s misguided affection held out, it wouldn’t matter in the end. The Cormac threat was all that connected them and as soon as it was dealt with they’d go their separate ways.</p><p>Who in their right mind would allow their young ward to be friends with a killer?</p><p>He tightened his fists, feeling something round and soft under one of them. Looking down, he remembered Elaine’s tangerine and it was a stab in his throat.</p><p>He squared his shoulders and raised his free hand to remove Claire’s own from his chest. Standing tall they were almost head to head, their eyes met with the intensity of a dying star and he leaned forward so that his nose was almost brushing hers.</p><p>“Listen to me very carefully Miss Preston.” He started. “I’m a killer. I will always be a killer. Nothing can change that and I won’t even try to deny that fact. I’ve hurt countless people, and will hurt countless more. This is who I am.</p><p>Elaine saw that firsthand. She met me at the worst possible circumstances and she saw what I did for a living. For some reason she decided to look past that and treat me with a civility that I don’t deserve. You asked why she was behaving so strangely? I think you meant why she was showing glimpses of her former self to <em>me </em>but not to Briggs or you. And you wanna know why? It’s because I don’t lie to her. I don’t treat her like a porcelain doll. I don’t try to act like everything is normal because it isn’t. She lost her mother and she will never recover from that. It’s time for you lot to accept that and stop coddling her!”</p><p>He looked away for a moment, taking a deep breath then releasing it before looking back at a narrowed eyed Claire. “That child means more to me than any of you could ever know.” He bristled and bared his teeth, eyes wild and crackling. “Just so you know,” he added. “I would gladly let every single one of you die if it meant I could keep her safe. There’s nothing worse than a monster with something to protect.”</p><p>They stared at each other for a few minutes, the tense silence keeping Veli’s hackles raised and mind sharp.</p><p>At last, the corners of her mouth raised slightly and she backed a step away from him.</p><p>“Good.” She said with a satisfied nod. “That’s all I needed to know.” She turned from him and walked towards the door. “And just so <em>you</em> know, I haven’t forgotten about you threatening my brother’s life, but we’ll deal with that later. For now, we have work to do.”</p><p>She left him in the study and walked silently away.</p><p>His brows stitched in confusion at what he had just witnessed. This whole family was so strange.</p><p>“Hurry up, Grayson!” Shouted Claire from the kitchen. “This Biryani is as good as gone!”</p><p>He cursed everything that happened in his life that led to this moment and pushed off the wall, hobbling as fast as his body could allow him. They were <em>not </em>about to rob him of his favorite food.</p><p>Absently he marveled at the shift in Claire’s attitude towards him and how she seemed to affect the way the other two acted with him and wondered what other surprises this woman was hiding.</p><p>She definitely seemed to be the leader of this particular group.</p>
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